# Why is Saddam Hussein always called by his first name? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 12, 2003, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-saddam-hussein-always-called-by-his-first-name/194561 "2003-08-12T02:27:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![geograf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b487fb/32.png) [@geograf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geograf)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-saddam-hussein-always-called-by-his-first-name/194561/1 "2003-08-12T02:27:03Z")
Why is Saddam Hussein always called by his first name? Everybody to whom I asked the question scoffed me and asked me why he would deserve respect after all the atrocities he committed. Granted, I realize calling him by first name makes him lose status, compared to other chiefs of state, but why aren’t other dictators treated as such? No one ever calls Castro, “Fidel”; Stalin, “Joseph”; or even Hitler, “Adolf” in news headlines. Any thoughts on the matter would be well-appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-saddam-hussein-always-called-by-his-first-name/194561/2 "2003-08-12T02:38:40Z")
Here ya go: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=134738](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=134738) ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-saddam-hussein-always-called-by-his-first-name/194561/3 "2003-08-12T02:53:17Z")
Well, it used to give George Bush the First an opportunity to deliberately mispronounce it as “Sodom”. ---
**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-saddam-hussein-always-called-by-his-first-name/194561/4 "2003-08-12T03:08:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by geograf \* > **No one ever calls Castro, "Fidel"** Fidel Castro is always called “Fidel” in Cuba. It’s kind of interesting to note that “fidel” means loyal, while “castro” means castle. ---
**Author:** ![BrianS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c6cbf5/32.png) [@BrianS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrianS)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-saddam-hussein-always-called-by-his-first-name/194561/5 "2003-08-12T03:27:24Z")
**WAG** I think it’s to keep from confusing Sadam with the late King Hussein of Jordan. ---
**Author:** ![BrianS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c6cbf5/32.png) [@BrianS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrianS)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-saddam-hussein-always-called-by-his-first-name/194561/6 "2003-08-12T03:30:05Z")
**pravnik** D’oh! Should have previewed thread. Oh well, I’m still a newb… at least on this board. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-saddam-hussein-always-called-by-his-first-name/194561/7 "2003-08-12T16:04:29Z")
If I remember correctly, Bush, Sr. pronounced it SAD-um, with the “a” pronounced like the “a” in “apple”. He did this for the duration of hostilities during the Gulf War. Once hostilities ceased, he went back to a mostly proper pronunciation. The explanation I heard back then was that it was pure psychological warfare. Hence, Bush’s mispronunciation coincided with the period of hostilities. The difference, though I don’t know if this is correct, was defined like so: Pronounced “Sa-DOM”, the name means “The Crusher” Pronounced “SAD-um”, the name means, roughly, “one who polishes old men’s boots” Perhaps a bit more insulting than people of certain political persuasions constantly referring to our President as “Dubya”. But I don’t think the mispronunciation of Saddam’s name is any worse than the cartoon caricatures of Hitler and the Japanese during WWII. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-saddam-hussein-always-called-by-his-first-name/194561/8 "2003-08-12T16:13:55Z")
You must not have looked in the link I supplied, because Collounsbury did not see how that was likely. It is possible, though, that some other combination of “SDM” using emphatic/non-emphatic “S” and “D” might mean something else. The consonants as given apparently mean “to crush.” I’m no expert on Arabic, but I don’t think changing the vowels will always change the root meaning. Any Arabic experts, feel free to jump in.