# What's the deal with people who spell Barack as "Barak?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 4, 2009, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-people-who-spell-barack-as-barak/512527 "2009-10-04T07:17:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![HawksPath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f07891/32.png) [@HawksPath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HawksPath)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-people-who-spell-barack-as-barak/512527/41 "2009-10-05T22:31:15Z")
> [@AppallingGael](#): > > “Barack Obama” beats “Barak Obama” 72,000,000 to 178,000; about a 400 to 1 ratio. “Barack Hussein Obama”, though, beats “Barak Hussein Obama” 179,000 to 7480, for a relatively paltry 24-1 ratio. D the C may be on to something. The google correlation is probably not very telling. All the legitimate news (welll almost all) will spell the name correct and leave out the middle name. The news stories will be a high proportion of the hits in the first coparison. This leaves the misspellings and middle names in a category of blogs and individual posters for the second comparison. It’s not apples to apples. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-people-who-spell-barack-as-barak/512527/42 "2009-10-05T22:54:38Z")
I stay pretty well informed and have been an Obama supporter for a couple of years but I didn’t really know it had a C in it until I saw this thread. I’m sure I’ve seen it in print but I’ve never really cared enough for it to have registered. I don’t think I’ve ever referred to him in writing as anything other than Obama or the President, so without this thread, it might have been a long time before I noticed. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2009, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-people-who-spell-barack-as-barak/512527/43 "2009-10-06T12:54:17Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Actually, I think that the correlation of this misspelling with the use of the “Hussein” middle name is a pretty good indicator that it is, to a significant degree, politically-motivated. Nobody uses his middle name unless they’re either being very meticulous about giving his exact name (which is the last place you’d expect to see accidental misspellings), or they’re trying to emphasize his “foreignness”, “Muslimness”, or “un-Americanness”. Actually, a google hit count is not a scientific sampling. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2009, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-people-who-spell-barack-as-barak/512527/44 "2009-10-06T23:04:42Z")
i just figured it was an erik, eric, erick thing. different spellings depending on the group that came up with the latin alphabet spelling. in africa you had a mix of countries going in and out. barak could be germanic influence, barac could be a french spelling , barack could be a british idea. kenya did have british dealings… ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2009, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-people-who-spell-barack-as-barak/512527/45 "2009-10-06T23:34:48Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I’ll admit that before I became a big-time supporter, I misspelled his name as “Barak” too. You think that’s bad? I was canvassing door to door for him during the campaign, and I didn’t learn the correct spelling 'til, uh… this thread. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2009, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-people-who-spell-barack-as-barak/512527/46 "2009-10-06T23:51:36Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Actually, I think that the correlation of this misspelling with the use of the “Hussein” middle name is a pretty good indicator that it is, to a significant degree, politically-motivated. Nobody uses his middle name unless they’re either being very meticulous about giving his exact name (which is the last place you’d expect to see accidental misspellings), or they’re trying to emphasize his “foreignness”, “Muslimness”, or “un-Americanness”. And it’s the best kind of smear: the one with built-in plausible deniability! The “what? What? I’m not TOUCHING you…” of Presidential disses. Not only can it be written off to oops-gosh unfamiliarity, anyone who dares to acknowledge its derogatory intent is just being paranoid, and actively seeking out martyrdom opportunities for their blessed Messiah. Words are more than the sum of their letters, and sometimes a cigar is a big brown cock. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2009, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-people-who-spell-barack-as-barak/512527/47 "2009-10-06T23:52:59Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > barack could be a british idea. kenya did have british dealings… Well, that would make sense, him being born in Kenya and all… ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2009, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-people-who-spell-barack-as-barak/512527/48 "2009-10-06T23:55:37Z")
it was his dad’s name first, and dad was born in kenya… ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-people-who-spell-barack-as-barak/512527/49 "2009-10-07T00:10:01Z")
Hear that sound, just over your head… Sorry, I should have used the 😃 smiley. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-people-who-spell-barack-as-barak/512527/50 "2009-10-07T00:14:04Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > The argument that this is politically motivated is really a busted flush. Even if conservatives did get the notion to use Barak as a coded insult, what would be the point? It would be lost in the ocean of unintentional misspellings of the name. And as we all know, conservatives never do anything stupid. _cough_ teabagging _cough_ ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-people-who-spell-barack-as-barak/512527/51 "2009-10-07T01:25:18Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > Hear that sound, just over your head… > > Sorry, I should have used the 😃 smiley. gotcha ya! i did briefly consider a hawaiian spelling… i always feel a bit sad for junior types, in mr obama’s case, being named for either parent would be a bit tough. stanley or barack. hhhhhmmmm. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-people-who-spell-barack-as-barak/512527/52 "2009-10-07T21:10:59Z")
It took me about six months to notice that he pronounces it buh-ROCK instead of buh-RACK. The spelling and the pronunciation are kind of at odds with one another. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-people-who-spell-barack-as-barak/512527/53 "2009-10-07T22:13:12Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > And it’s the best kind of smear: the one with built-in plausible deniability! The “what? What? I’m not TOUCHING you…” of Presidential disses. Not only can it be written off to oops-gosh unfamiliarity, anyone who dares to acknowledge its derogatory intent is just being paranoid, and actively seeking out martyrdom opportunities for their blessed Messiah. > > Words are more than the sum of their letters, and sometimes a cigar is a big brown cock. Oh it’s even better than that. It’s a smear that none but the completely hyperalert/paranoid even _recognize_ as a smear. That’s some smear. ---
**Author:** ![gurujulp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba9def/32.png) [@gurujulp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gurujulp)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-people-who-spell-barack-as-barak/512527/54 "2009-10-07T22:52:39Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > From [TechCrunch](http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/20/can-you-spell-barack-obama/): > > Unless someone is going to come up with some evidence that the majority of those 60,000,000 pages are conservative blogs I’m going to stick with spelling error. Yes. > [@akennett](#): > > I just figured they’re all David Eddings fans. YES! I actually did intentionally spell it wrong for this reason, until… > [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > I didn’t notice I was spelling it wrong until someone wrote a testy editorial. This was, IIRC, during the election campaign. I was familiar with the biblical Barak and the Israeli prime minister Barak, and so I only gave the spelling a cursory glance. > > Now that I know the spelling, I try to be careful about it. Although I did write a parody scare-email titled “Barak Oybama Is A Secret Jew!” This. But not the secret Jew bit. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-people-who-spell-barack-as-barak/512527/55 "2009-10-13T20:19:09Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Nobody uses his middle name unless they’re either being very meticulous about giving his exact name (which is the last place you’d expect to see accidental misspellings), or they’re trying to emphasize his “foreignness”, “Muslimness”, or “un-Americanness”. Or they’re schoolchildren singing his praises…😛 ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-people-who-spell-barack-as-barak/512527/56 "2009-10-14T18:50:11Z")
Some people are just not meticulous spellers, but there are many more morons who can’t spell than intelligent people. So while many people unknowingly misspell his name, there are many more morons who do so. If you ever stumble across these sites and read them, you will see some of the worst, ignorant, misspelled ranting and raving you can imagine. This comes from a good speller who has several unexplained lapses. I once sent out a dozen resumes to the “Personal Dept.” of the companies instead of the Personnel Dept., and it was for an editing/proofreading position. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-people-who-spell-barack-as-barak/512527/57 "2009-10-14T19:18:05Z")
They’re Mortal Kombat [fans](http://www.obamarofl.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/baraka_for_president.jpg)? _edit_ oops, Soul beat me ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-people-who-spell-barack-as-barak/512527/58 "2009-10-14T20:11:25Z")
It’s like Endora never calling Darrin by his correct name. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-people-who-spell-barack-as-barak/512527.md?page=2)