Buzz
10. Osama bin Laden
An Iraqi boy discovered the heavy toll of sharing the same name as Osama bin Laden after his family was targeted with death threats. To clarify, we are referring to the infamous Al-Qaeda leader, not the rogue elephant responsible for the deaths of 27 people in India.
This particular Osama bin Laden was born in Alexandria, Iraq, in 2002. Just a year later, the US invasion of Iraq set off a series of difficulties for him. His name kept him confined to his home, unable to attend school, join sports clubs, or even pass through checkpoints without suspicion. His family eventually received death threats, compelling them to relocate to Baghdad.
Several efforts to alter his name were unsuccessful. However, when Qassim al-Araji, Iraq's Interior Minister, learned of his situation, he stepped in to help him change his name to Ahmed Hussein. Tragically, the boy named Osama bin Laden was electrocuted to death just four days before the papers with his new name arrived. An online outlet reported his passing with the headline “Osama bin Laden Killed in Iraq.”
9. Saddam Hussain
An Indian engineer named Saddam Hussain was turned down by over 40 job opportunities solely because he shared a name with the former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein. The Indian Saddam Hussain's surname was spelled “Hussain” (with an “a”), unlike the late Iraqi leader, whose surname was “Hussein” (with an “e”).
Despite the distinction, this didn’t matter to his potential employers. Eventually, Saddam Hussain decided to change his name to Sajid Hussain, but this decision only created further complications as it invalidated his educational credentials.
Saddam Hussain wasn't the only one who faced issues for sharing a name with the former Iraqi leader. Another man, also named Saddam Hussein, who shared the exact name of the infamous leader, was captured and nearly executed by an Iraqi militia because of his identity. He survived only because the weapon malfunctioned.
A boy named Saddam Hussein also suffered ridicule and bullying at school, while another man lost his job after being accused of having links to the Ba'ath party. The only 'evidence'? He had named his son Saddam.
In Iraq, another unfortunate Saddam Hussein had been facing difficulties long before the president Saddam Hussein was ousted. Due to his name, his teachers held him to higher standards than other students and imposed harsh punishments whenever he fell short of expectations.
Hoping for better treatment, this unlucky Saddam Hussein enlisted in the army. But things took a turn for the worse when an officer assaulted him for daring to share a name with the dictator. His situation worsened further after Saddam Hussein (the president) lost power in 2003. In 2006, he attempted to change his name but was unable to afford the associated costs and complications.
8. Craig Cockburn
Spam filters are designed to protect us from unwanted and harmful emails. However, for Craig Cockburn, his messages were always flagged as spam due to his last name, Cockburn, which contained a particular word. As if that wasn't bad enough, even the servers at the Scottish Tourist Board, where he was employed, marked his emails as spam.
We only learned about Mr. Cockburn's predicament after he sent an email about the issue to the San Jose Mercury News. To make sure his message didn’t get caught in the spam filter, he altered his name to C0ckburn, replacing the 'o' with a zero—a tactic commonly used by spammers to evade filters.
Mr. C0ckburn wasn't the only one facing issues with the innocent use of 'cock.' The Age newspaper in Australia had a similar problem when its spam filter blocked an email from a reporter covering the Cock o’ the Bay yacht race.
7. Robin Kills The Enemy
Kills The Enemy’s experience highlights the broader problem faced by Native Americans, who often have names that sound unusual to others. Another Native American, Melissa Holds The Enemy, also had her account suspended for a month, along with Creeping Bear and Oglala Lakota Lance Brown Eyes.
6. Dr. Herman I. Libshitz
Sixty-nine-year-old Dr. Herman I. Libshitz and his wife, Alison, were attempting to upgrade their home Internet service to DSL. When asked for his email address and password to complete the setup, Herman provided the necessary details but was unable to proceed.
He contacted Verizon, his Internet service provider, and was told he couldn’t finish the setup because his surname, Libshitz, contained a particular word. While the customer service agent didn’t specify the word, we’ll refrain from mentioning it as well. Dr. Libshitz spoke with another agent, who suggested that he misspell his surname.
Dr. Libshitz refused to comply and instead called Verizon’s billing department to explain the situation. After being transferred between several agents, they promised to call him back. They never did, but Verizon sent him a letter stating that he couldn’t use his surname because “it didn’t comply with company rules.”
Dr. Libshitz was only permitted to use his real name after a Philadelphia Inquirer columnist contacted a Verizon spokeswoman, who agreed that the Libshitz family had made a valid request. The spokeswoman managed to convince the company to make an exception to its policy that banned the use of objectionable names in email addresses.
5. Linda Callahan
Linda Callahan encountered issues when trying to create a Verizon email address that included her surname, repeatedly receiving an error message. She and her son, Ed, soon discovered they couldn’t set up an email address containing their surname. Yahoo, which handled Verizon’s email service, restricted accounts with names like “Allah,” “Osama,” and “bin Laden,” among others.
Yahoo later clarified that it had started blocking accounts with names like “Allah” after previous users had exploited such names to promote hate. While the ban on “Allah” was eventually lifted, Linda had already created a new account with Gmail, leaving her disappointed.
4. Adolf Hitler
An American man was imprisoned after naming at least five of his children after notorious figures, including Adolf Hitler, the Aryan race, Heinrich Himmler (a senior officer in the Nazi Party), and Hitler’s companion Eva Braun. The children's names were Adolf Hitler Campbell, JoyceLynn Aryan Nation, Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie, Heinrich Hons, and Eva Braun, with Eva being the stepsister to the others.
The man, who was originally named Isidore Heath Campbell, went further by renaming himself Isidore Heath Hitler. His new initials, I.H.H., were interpreted by some as 'I Hail Hitler.'
The family gained widespread attention after a supermarket refused to inscribe three-year-old Adolf Hitler’s name on his birthday cake. In response, authorities took the children into protective custody, citing 'domestic abuse,' and Heath was sent to prison on charges of domestic violence.
After serving his sentence, Heath tried to regain custody of his children, appearing in court dressed in a Nazi uniform. As of now, it seems he has not been successful in regaining custody of his children.
3. Isis Anchalee
The impact of the Isis name extends beyond people, with several businesses also experiencing negative consequences. One business, Isis Nails in New York City, faced relentless harassment and a 30% drop in sales after customers frequently reminded the owner of ISIS’s brutal actions, which led the owner to change the business's name.
A Belgian chocolate maker, previously known as Italo Suisse, rebranded itself to Isis but soon reverted to Libeert due to a severe decline in sales. Isis Pharmaceuticals also rebranded to Ionis Pharmaceuticals. Several TV characters and agencies named Isis were written out of their respective shows as well.
2. James Bond
James Bond, the iconic British secret agent in Ian Fleming’s novels, was named after a real person—a bird expert named James Bond. The real James Bond worked at Philadelphia’s Academy of Natural Sciences from the 1920s until 1989.
The actual James Bond was an accomplished ornithologist and author of several books on birds, including his 1936 work Birds of the West Indies, which inspired Ian Fleming to borrow his name for the famous spy character.
Fleming chose the name because he wanted something ordinary and uninspiring for his character. However, the real James Bond wasn’t thrilled with the association. In fact, he was once mistaken for the fictional spy at an airport, where officials questioned the authenticity of his passport because it bore the same name as the famous secret agent.
1. Harry Baals
Fort Wayne, Indiana, found itself in a tricky situation when it asked residents to vote for a name for a new city-county building. The majority of voters chose to name the building after Harry Baals, a four-time mayor who passed away while in office in 1954. This presented a dilemma for city officials who were hesitant to honor the late mayor in that way.
City officials had no personal issue with Mayor Baals. The problem was with the pronunciation of his surname, 'Baals,' which sounded like 'balls.' To make matters worse, his first name, 'Harry,' added to the ridicule, and for years, the name had been the subject of local jokes. Officials weren’t eager to make their city the punchline of national humor.
They also couldn't opt for 'Bales,' which is the current pronunciation used by Baals's descendants, because Harry Baals had insisted on 'balls.' Years ago, when a newscaster mistakenly said 'Harry Bales' on air, the mayor immediately called in to correct them and emphasize the 'balls' pronunciation.
