‘Osama’ is, or at least was, a perfectly normal Arabic name. It was never particularly popular in the United States; in the decade before the 9/11 attacks (1991-2000) an average of 45 American boys were given that name
| Year | Boys named Osama |
| 1991 | 43 |
| 1992 | 36 |
| 1993 | 34 |
| 1994 | 36 |
| 1995 | 38 |
| 1996 | 48 |
| 1997 | 44 |
| 1998 | 47 |
| 1999 | 65 |
| 2000 | 54 |
Needless to say, in the years following the attacks the count dropped precipitously:
| Year | Boys named Osama |
| 2002 | 11 |
| 2003 | 11 |
| 2004 | 5 |
| 2005 | less than 51For privacy reasons, the Social Security Administration does not provide exact counts when the number is less than five |
| 2006 | 6 |
| 2007 | 7 |
The numbers dropped precipitously, but not to zero. Each year there were a handful of parents who gave their child a name that was, to most people, immediately and exclusively associated with a mass murderer. One can only guess as to their reasoning. A strong family tie? Contrarian thinking? Whatever the reason, it seems an unfortunate thing to burden a child with.
What about another name associated with mass murder? Here’s the history of “Adolf” among boys’ names:
| Year | Boys named Adolf |
| 1931 | 25 |
| 1932 | 22 |
| 1933 | 17 |
| 1934 | 21 |
| 1935 | 15 |
| 1936 | 20 |
| 1937 | 21 |
| 1938 | 13 |
| 1939 | 16 |
| 1940 | 21 |
| 1941 | 14 |
| 1942 | less than 5 |
| 1943 | 8 |
| 1944 | 5 |
| 1945 | 7 |
Again, not a particularly popular name in the first place2‘Adolph’ was the more-common variation, averaging about 200 names each year in the 1930s, and its usage dropped when the US joined World War II. But, once again, not to zero. It’s hard to imagine that during one of the greatest struggles this country has ever faced, twenty parents decided to give their infant boy the name of the enemy’s leader.
Of course, in a country where parents give their kids names like Arson377 since 2010, Riot4growing in popularity for both boys and girls, and Shooter510-15 boys a year, what’s the occasional homicidal maniac?
