Sep 22, 2009 7:03pm
How Many Different Ways Can You Spell ‘Gaddafi’?
EmailLibyan leader Moammar Gaddafi has been in the headlines a lot this week — he's visiting the U.S. for the first time since he took power 40 years ago, and his arrival is not without controversy.
But politics aside, we've come across a list of the many different English spellings of Gaddafi's name. Because of the difficulty translating Arabic to English, there are several different translations — the Library of Congress lists 72 alternate spellings, and the New York times, Associated Press and Xinhua news sources used 40 additional spellings between 1998 and 2008.
We've posted all 112 of them below…
- Qaddafi, Muammar
- Al-Gathafi, Muammar
- al-Qadhafi, Muammar
- Al Qathafi, Mu'ammar
- Al Qathafi, Muammar
- El Gaddafi, Moamar
- El Kadhafi, Moammar
- El Kazzafi, Moamer
- El Qathafi, Mu'Ammar
- Gadafi, Muammar
- Gaddafi, Moamar
- Gadhafi, Mo'ammar
- Gathafi, Muammar
- Ghadafi, Muammar
- Ghaddafi, Muammar
- Ghaddafy, Muammar
- Gheddafi, Muammar
- Gheddafi, Muhammar
- Kadaffi, Momar
- Kad'afi, Mu`amar al- 20
- Kaddafi, Muamar
- Kaddafi, Muammar
- Kadhafi, Moammar
- Kadhafi, Mouammar
- Kazzafi, Moammar
- Khadafy, Moammar
- Khaddafi, Muammar
- Moamar al-Gaddafi
- Moamar el Gaddafi
- Moamar El Kadhafi
- Moamar Gaddafi
- Moamer El Kazzafi
- Mo'ammar el-Gadhafi
- Moammar El Kadhafi
- Mo'ammar Gadhafi
- Moammar Kadhafi
- Moammar Khadafy
- Moammar Qudhafi
- Mu`amar al-Kad'afi
- Mu'amar al-Kadafi
- Muamar Al-Kaddafi
- Muamar Kaddafi
- Muamer Gadafi
- Muammar Al-Gathafi
- Muammar al-Khaddafi
- Mu'ammar al-Qadafi
- Mu'ammar al-Qaddafi
- Muammar al-Qadhafi
- Mu'ammar al-Qadhdhafi
- Mu`ammar al-Qadhdhāfī 50
- Mu'ammar Al Qathafi
- Muammar Al Qathafi
- Muammar Gadafi
- Muammar Gaddafi
- Muammar Ghadafi
- Muammar Ghaddafi
- Muammar Ghaddafy
- Muammar Gheddafi
- Muammar Kaddafi
- Muammar Khaddafi
- Mu'ammar Qadafi
- Muammar Qaddafi
- Muammar Qadhafi
- Mu'ammar Qadhdhafi
- Muammar Quathafi
- Mulazim Awwal Mu'ammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Qadhafi
- Qadafi, Mu'ammar
- Qadhafi, Muammar
- Qadhdhāfī, Mu`ammar
- Qathafi, Mu'Ammar el 70
- Quathafi, Muammar
- Qudhafi, Moammar
- Moamar AI Kadafi
- Maummar Gaddafi
- Moamar Gadhafi
- Moamer Gaddafi
- Moamer Kadhafi
- Moamma Gaddafi
- Moammar Gaddafi
- Moammar Gadhafi
- Moammar Ghadafi
- Moammar Khadaffy
- Moammar Khaddafi
- Moammar el Gadhafi
- Moammer Gaddafi
- Mouammer al Gaddafi
- Muamar Gaddafi
- Muammar Al Ghaddafi
- Muammar Al Qaddafi
- Muammar Al Qaddafi
- Muammar El Qaddafi
- Muammar Gadaffi
- Muammar Gadafy
- Muammar Gaddhafi
- Muammar Gadhafi
- Muammar Ghadaffi
- Muammar Qadthafi
- Muammar al Gaddafi
- Muammar el Gaddafy
- Muammar el Gaddafi
- Muammar el Qaddafi
- Muammer Gadaffi
- Muammer Gaddafi
- Mummar Gaddafi
- Omar Al Qathafi
- Omar Mouammer Al Gaddafi
- Omar Muammar Al Ghaddafi
- Omar Muammar Al Qaddafi
- Omar Muammar Al Qathafi
- Omar Muammar Gaddafi
- Omar Muammar Ghaddafi
- Omar al Ghaddafi
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Spelling the name of the Libya dictator is worse than trying to spell Hannukkah and is FAR harder than trying to determine what the politically correct name for an Asian city or country is (Mumbai? Bombay? Burma? Peking? Beijing?). And is Obama appointing Tsars or Czars? And does Obama read Mr. Tse-Tung or Mr.Zedong before retiring in the evening??
Posted by: Ed | September 22, 2009, 7:19 pm 7:19 pm
A-10 Warthog is how I spell it.
Posted by: Find your way back | September 22, 2009, 8:12 pm 8:12 pm
Nice journalism. Now how about doing some REAL research on the NEA? Or Rangel? Or Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? Or the cost of Cap and Trade? Or…the list is growing, and your head is in the sand.
Posted by: wheresmymoney | September 22, 2009, 9:09 pm 9:09 pm
Back in the 1980′s when he was in the news, there was one more way to spell it.
Momar kadaffy duck
Posted by: George | September 22, 2009, 10:35 pm 10:35 pm
How about spelling it J E R K?
Posted by: Jay Crawford | September 23, 2009, 8:56 pm 8:56 pm
I spell it like this…
M.C. HAMMER
Posted by: james | February 22, 2011, 10:36 pm 10:36 pm
I don’t care how his name is spelled as long as it starts with ..THE LATE
Posted by: paperpushermj | February 22, 2011, 11:13 pm 11:13 pm
There’s an insidious reason Q habitually uses different name-spellings. The Klown act frustrated efforts for journalists to track (and report) G’s criminal past– and cynically encouraged them (and the audience) to ignore C’s monstrous acts;
Munich Olympic Massacre
Constable Fletcher Murder
Rome/Vienna Airport Massacres
Berlin Discoteque Massacre
PA103 Massacre
UTA772 Massacre
IRA proxy massacres
EU Nurse Prison Sextortion
Swiss hostage extortion
Americans imagine Q’s clown act is crazed. But K is only crazy like a fox. G’s playing on Western conceits that the monster is a big joke.
The game isn’t funny in the least to his innocent victims’ families.
Nemo me impune lacessit?
Posted by: Kaddafi_Delenda_Est | February 23, 2011, 8:20 am 8:20 am
I think all 112 of the spellings are wrong.
Posted by: JOHN | February 25, 2011, 12:35 pm 12:35 pm
TO Paraphrase Shakespeare: A skunk by any other name, still stinks….
Posted by: teopa | February 25, 2011, 11:46 pm 11:46 pm
Muammer who?
Posted by: Nansen | February 27, 2011, 5:50 pm 5:50 pm
Don’t leave out “Godawful.”
Posted by: Anon | March 2, 2011, 3:36 am 3:36 am
As it is an Arabic name there is no right way to spell it using the Roman alphabet. As each Roman letter is used in many languages to represent often many different phonemes.
Posted by: Eddie | March 19, 2011, 10:17 pm 10:17 pm
Maybe he has a “split personality disorder”. Diffrent names for diffrent character. Best to stay in bed in a safety hospital and chat with him selves for rest of his life believes Silverstare from Sweden.
Posted by: Silverstare | March 24, 2011, 1:45 pm 1:45 pm
“THE MAD DOG”, works for me.
Posted by: DOTHEDD | May 3, 2011, 12:07 pm 12:07 pm
thanks for this insidiously wonderful trivia….now if only you can spell all the awful things he did for Libya…
Posted by: LM | August 23, 2011, 1:49 am 1:49 am
long live Gadafi !
support for Colonel !!!
Posted by: sickmouse | August 23, 2011, 3:55 am 3:55 am
Trivial maybe, but so glad to know there was a reason I could never get his name right!
Posted by: Aaron | August 23, 2011, 10:41 am 10:41 am
How about looking into his passport to check the legally used spelling?
Posted by: Luay Terek | August 23, 2011, 10:56 am 10:56 am
Passport? I dont need no stinking passport. I’ll just shave my beard, take off that stupid hat and be sitting on a beach in Aruba.
News Flash: We have several confirmed sightings of Qaddafi spotted at a Qaddafi look a like contest in France.
Posted by: Bob | August 24, 2011, 10:42 pm 10:42 pm
How do I spell the name of the Libyan dictator who authorized the bombing of the Pan Am flight 103? M-U-R-D-E-R-E-R.
Posted by: Karin the catwhisperer | August 24, 2011, 10:46 pm 10:46 pm
Not to be a stickler, but what this article is referring to is not “translation”, but “transcription” or “transliteration”. Translation refers to representing the meanings of words from another language.
Posted by: JABBY | August 25, 2011, 2:18 am 2:18 am
Having taken a break for a brief moment of levity, could we go back to some real news coverage now?
Posted by: creeper | August 25, 2011, 6:59 am 6:59 am
Qaddafi > Obama
Posted by: Nuf Said | September 4, 2011, 3:02 am 3:02 am