# Osama\\Usama bin Laden? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 17, 2001, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-usama-bin-laden/82206 "2001-09-17T17:59:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tragic\_kingdom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@tragic\_kingdom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tragic_kingdom)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-usama-bin-laden/82206/1 "2001-09-17T17:59:48Z")
I have seen it Usama on the FBI Most Wanted website, and Osama anywhere else. So I’m guessing they are both right, but what is the difference, and why is there a difference? ---
**Author:** ![Darqangelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecccb3/32.png) [@Darqangelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darqangelle)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-usama-bin-laden/82206/2 "2001-09-17T18:37:25Z")
Isn’t one a pyramid sceme? WAG, but I think there’s no _proper_ way of spelling it, because it’s an Arabic name, and thus, is usually written in Arabic script. Thus, in English, it’s just spelled out phonetically, meaning that both spellings are probably closest to right, it’s just somewhere in the middle. ---
**Author:** ![Skelji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Skelji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skelji)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-usama-bin-laden/82206/3 "2001-09-17T18:44:05Z")
See also: Muammar Qaddafi Mo’ammar Gadhafi Muammar Kaddafi Muammar Qadhafi Moammar El Kadhafi Muammar Gadafi etc. etc. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-usama-bin-laden/82206/4 "2001-09-17T18:44:36Z")
His name is Arabic, and their alphabet is different than ours. When we spell an Arabic name in English, we listen to what it sounds like and then try to use English letters that render the same general sounds. (Also true of Chinese, etc.) This is called transliteration. There is no standard code for transliterating Arabic to English, although there are prevalent conventions. Some Arabic sounds are very gutteral and cannot be rendered in English letters, so there are certain letter combinations that act as a token. For instance, the Islamic holy book has been spelled most often as Koran, but the Arabic letter it begins with is a distinct letter from the Arabic letter that sounds like a K. It is very similar to a K but pronounced farther back in the throat (closest thing in English is the C in calm). So it is also spelled as Quran, the Q signifying this back-throat K sound. KH is used for a K sound with a scraping (like how a German pronounces Bach). And so on. Years ago on Saturday Night Live there was a joke on the news media called “How Do You Spell Khaddafi?” because everywhere you look, the last name of Moammar Khaddafi of Libya was spelled differently. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-usama-bin-laden/82206/5 "2001-09-17T23:13:39Z")
Uncle Cece on [spelling that Libyan colonel’s name](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_264b.html). Did you know there are 32 ways to spell "Muammar (insert your preferred spelling of “ka-doph-ee” here)? ---
**Author:** ![Philosophocles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Philosophocles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philosophocles)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2001, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-usama-bin-laden/82206/6 "2001-09-18T01:24:18Z")
You say Qaddafi, I say Gadhafi Blah blah blah blah… Let’s call the whole thing off!!! You say Epistles, and I say Apostles You say Elijah, and I say Elisha Epistles, Apostles, Elijah, Elisha Let’s call the whole thing off!!! ---
**Author:** ![Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milton_De_La_Warre)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2001, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-usama-bin-laden/82206/7 "2001-10-05T11:07:54Z")
IMHO, we in the USA spell the guy’s name “Osama” because we instinctually don’t like the idea of our #1 Most Wanted Bad Guy having a name that begins with “USA”. ---
**Author:** ![Popup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@Popup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Popup)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2001, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-usama-bin-laden/82206/8 "2001-10-05T11:44:46Z")
The transliteration also depends on the target language. The name of the terrorist who is currently on all front pages is spelled like this in different languages: French: Oussama Ben Laden Swedish and Spanish: Usama bin Laden Dutch, German, Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Portugese and English: Osama bin Laden At least that’s the first hits coming up with google in the respective languages. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2001, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-usama-bin-laden/82206/9 "2001-10-05T12:41:06Z")
Like he deserves to have his name spelt correctly. Asshola Bin Liner. That should be the official spelling.