# The dictator in charge of Libya... how do YOU spell his name? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 1, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dictator-in-charge-of-libya-how-do-you-spell-his-name/573128 "2011-03-01T23:53:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dictator-in-charge-of-libya-how-do-you-spell-his-name/573128/1 "2011-03-01T23:53:48Z")
I remember back in the '80s when he was all over the news and no two sources spelled his name the same way. Now it’s happening all over again. How do YOU spell it? ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dictator-in-charge-of-libya-how-do-you-spell-his-name/573128/2 "2011-03-02T00:02:30Z")
B-a-t-s-h-i-t C-r-a-z-y ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dictator-in-charge-of-libya-how-do-you-spell-his-name/573128/3 "2011-03-02T00:06:37Z")
In 1986, Gaddafi reportedly responded to a Minnesota school’s letter in English using the spelling “Moammar El-Gadhafi” And I think it should be spelled the way he wants it spelled 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dictator-in-charge-of-libya-how-do-you-spell-his-name/573128/4 "2011-03-02T00:48:49Z")
Qaddafi. Using a Q with no U following makes me feel rebellious. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dictator-in-charge-of-libya-how-do-you-spell-his-name/573128/5 "2011-03-02T01:01:08Z")
Gaddafi. That’s the way I’ve seen it most, and knowing that it isn’t his preferred spelling encourages me to continue to use it. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dictator-in-charge-of-libya-how-do-you-spell-his-name/573128/6 "2011-03-02T01:05:15Z")
Qaddafi. ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dictator-in-charge-of-libya-how-do-you-spell-his-name/573128/7 "2011-03-02T01:15:51Z")
[He doesn’t seem to care.](http://www.cringely.com/2011/02/major-jolloud/) > [@](#): > > Thirty-five years ago when I knew him, Qaddafi was a young gun and very full of himself, but the sense I always had was that he knew it was all for show and he didn’t really take himself too seriously. I asked him one time, for example, how to spell his name. After all we’ve seen it in print with a G and a K and a Q: which did he prefer? “Spell it any way you like, ” he said (in pretty fair English, by the way — something else that seems to have strategically disappeared over the years). “All that matters is spelling it correctly in Arabic.” ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dictator-in-charge-of-libya-how-do-you-spell-his-name/573128/8 "2011-03-02T01:58:33Z")
Qhkaaddoaphffghiyei ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dictator-in-charge-of-libya-how-do-you-spell-his-name/573128/9 "2011-03-02T02:11:02Z")
D_e_a_d d_u_c_k ---
**Author:** ![Mallory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mallory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallory)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dictator-in-charge-of-libya-how-do-you-spell-his-name/573128/10 "2011-03-02T02:31:24Z")
The master speaks: [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/513/how-are-you-supposed-to-spell-muammar-gaddafi-khadafy-qadhafi](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/513/how-are-you-supposed-to-spell-muammar-gaddafi-khadafy-qadhafi) ---
**Author:** ![ShermanAter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@ShermanAter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShermanAter)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dictator-in-charge-of-libya-how-do-you-spell-his-name/573128/11 "2011-03-02T03:42:43Z")
I think the confusion comes from provincialism in the USA. We used to call Beijing, China, Peking, China and the capitol of India was Bombay not Mumbai. We still have Chinese restaurants here in Seattle called Peking Palace and I can buy a bottle of Bombay Gin at my local liquor store. Quadahfi, Gadhafi, take your pick ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dictator-in-charge-of-libya-how-do-you-spell-his-name/573128/12 "2011-03-02T03:47:07Z")
From the NY Times: Qaddafi. When I doubt, I go with the Gray Lady. And the old spelling of Peking was just because the West used a different kind of transliteration for Chinese language names until a few decades ago. Peking duck, Peking ravioli, and Pekingese dogs get grandfathered in. Relax. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dictator-in-charge-of-libya-how-do-you-spell-his-name/573128/13 "2011-03-02T05:10:30Z")
معمر القذافي ---
**Author:** ![ShermanAter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@ShermanAter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShermanAter)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dictator-in-charge-of-libya-how-do-you-spell-his-name/573128/14 "2011-03-02T05:35:37Z")
> [@Mehitabel](#): > > From the NY Times: Qaddafi. When I doubt, I go with the Gray Lady. > > And the old spelling of Peking was just because the West used a different kind of transliteration for Chinese language names until a few decades ago. Peking duck, Peking ravioli, and Pekingese dogs get grandfathered in. Relax. I will admit that transliteration may be a more appropriate term than provincialism. I am not buying that the NY Times is the be all, end all source though. The AP spells it Gaghafi. > **[The Seattle Times | Local news, sports, business, politics, entertainment,...](https://www.seattletimes.com)** > > Local news, sports, business, politics, entertainment, travel, restaurants and opinion for Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. You relax. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Onimous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@Ann\_Onimous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Onimous)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dictator-in-charge-of-libya-how-do-you-spell-his-name/573128/15 "2011-03-02T05:40:17Z")
That Q dude in charge of Libya. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dictator-in-charge-of-libya-how-do-you-spell-his-name/573128/16 "2011-03-02T11:55:38Z")
> [@ShermanAter](#): > > We used to call Beijing, China, Peking, China and the capitol of India was Bombay not Mumbai. I’m reasonably sure there’s quite a few miles between Mumbai and Delhi, you know. Just a few. Then again, a capitol is not a capital, although the capitol of India is in its capital… I usually spell it Gadafi in Spanish and copy whatever spelling other people are using in English. ---
**Author:** ![williamweigand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b3f665/32.png) [@williamweigand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/williamweigand)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dictator-in-charge-of-libya-how-do-you-spell-his-name/573128/17 "2011-03-02T12:15:26Z")
Duckdaffy. And I like the way his wife spells it - Getoffme. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dictator-in-charge-of-libya-how-do-you-spell-his-name/573128/18 "2011-03-02T20:33:16Z")
Papers tend to adopt a house style and stick with it. Although ‘Taliban’ and ‘Taleban’ can both be found here, sometimes in the same newspaper. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dictator-in-charge-of-libya-how-do-you-spell-his-name/573128/19 "2011-03-02T20:35:15Z")
It is Gadaffy. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dictator-in-charge-of-libya-how-do-you-spell-his-name/573128/20 "2011-03-02T20:43:09Z")
QadaffyDuck is my preference. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dictator-in-charge-of-libya-how-do-you-spell-his-name/573128.md?page=2)