Why Did Obama Change His Name?

3primecube - it is the opposite. it is not a coward to want to be called by his name, especially in this highly racially divided country. I went through a very similar thing. My nick name is Nick. I was also called Nicky when I was small. People just start calling you these names and you get use to it. It had nothing to do with cowardess. Actually it was pride in my given name and putting away the child and become an adult. It didn't hurt that the ladies like my name.

This is only a test.There is a lot of anger expressed against Pelosi and Reid for not stopping war funding. It is justified. I also was angry. The time to do it was right after the 2006 elections. But, accompanying that cutting of funding had to be an initiative to replace our military action with a coordinated international diplomatic initiative. Without it, Iraq situation could potentially become worse, at least for Iraqis

This above all: to thine own self be true

His name is not Barry! How dare anybody question the great and powerful Obama! His name is perfect! His choice of spiritual advisers is perfect. His choice to use drugs is not to be questioned or even mentioned! Obama is GOD!

man !! Barry Obamas supporters go complete barshit when someone says anything about their candidate...like for instance his cigarette habit or his indescretions with cocaine..it's like his supporters don't want the pure Barack to be tainted in any way regardless of what the truth is

Yawn. Is this news? Is there a story here that I'm missing? What's the point?

If you read his book ...some of his relatives in Kenya called him Barry, as his father was called. His white grandmother called him Bar. Please America read this book "Dreams from my Father" by Barack Obama and you will see how he grew up in a loving "white" home, and thus why he was so hurt when his white grandmother was afraid of a black man ....and why . It also tells how ostracized his mother was growing up in a racist Texas town, when she brought home a black friend from grade school. Read and understand.

Asking to be called by your given name rather than some diminutive is not changing your name. It's very common in all ethnicities. If his name was William and he asked not to be called Billy would this be news? What a waste of time.

WHY ARE YOU GUYS (Newsweek, et.al.) TRYING TO PICK GNAT SHIT OUT OF PEPPER???
You got nothing else to report on? How about McCain's "Spiritual Advisor" one Mr. ROD PARSLEY??? Come on, Newsweek; gives us some news we can use. And if you're incapable of that, at least give us some NEWS!!!
That's an order, son.

I'm surprised to have found this coming from HuffPo. As many others have said, this is a non-issue, a non-abstract of an article. Disappointing - how many of us have given up a child-like nickname when we grew into a more adult world? Polling just the first page, I bet the answer is 'many, if not most.'

As a child, I too went by a diminutive (Jordi or Jordy); it was expedient for all those people who could not take the time or effort to try and learn how to spell and pronounce my full name. I grew, I matured. I grew out of Jordi, and finally embraced my full name, as it was given to me. 99% of the people I knew saw this, understood this, and picked up my new (original) monicker. The few who haven't, I forgive them their foibles.

A bigger story should examine why some people chose to live by their nicknames instead of their given names, like Scooter Libby, or Mitt Romney.

My mother-in-law was called Elizabeth until her 30's, then went by Betty until her 60's, and then went by Liz. No in-depth investigation required.

I don't know many Barry's. There was the actor from the Brady Bunch, and Barry Goldwater.

I personally would have preferred the name Barack over Barry because in college it seems more studious, more inquisitive.

So does anyone really know if Rush is Limbaugh's given name?

this reminds me of the kunta kinte vs. toby situation in ROOTS (only a lot less serious---thank progress).

What in the hell is this article about -- a little boy called Jimmy who grew up to be called by his given and more adult sounding name of James? I have a sister who I still know as Sandy but she is now called Sandra in her adult life. Maybe I should write a blog about this troubling inconsistency?

One thing that hasn't been raised on this highly serious issue is the spelling of his first name as "Barack".

It should be "Barak"

There is no "ck" combination in Arabic.

Something pretty sinister has to be up here.

Forget 3AM phone calls, just by itself this extra "c" is enough to keep me up worrying the entire night.

You should be too!

Did anyone actually read the article? Admittedly, I didn't think it was very well written, but the core message is a description of how Obama grew up from his nickname of Barry to his given name Barack. It's pretty much as many of you have guessed, a change of maturity, but with backstory explaining the buildup to the change.

WTF? Because he became an Adult? Some people prefer to be called by their nickname others by their formal name. Big Whoop! Lets find something actually newsworth to write up about.

Barack changed his name to....Barack!! Whoa. Used to be called Barry. How the heck do you get Barry from Barack? Can't imagine college buds picking a nickname like that. And why would he drop his nickname when he became an adult? What's he trying to hide this time? Nobody assumes their real name when they grow up. OK, Crazy Jack McCain did. But "Bill" Clinton didn't. Very few know his actual name is "William," the very name he used to avoid the draft! Then there was that Frankie Roosevelt who mysteriously morphed into Franklin. And how about that "Ike" guy?

This article is nothing more than a small minded appeal to small minded xenophobes like Pat Buchanan, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, et al. Nothing to see here.

Had he kept the nickname Barry, right now the GOP would be raising hell about him trying to disguise his African name.
This is a bullshit topic. Boys grow up to be men. My brother Billy now introduces himself as Bill.
In the words of Dick Cheney, so?

Talk about cringing. Everyone seems to be forgetting that his MOTHER NAMED HIM BARACK, period. The fact that his white family members wanted to avoid his African roots, bears to mind the "typical white person" comment he made. That's right, white people are typically uncomfortable with anything African, anything black. Barack didn't go from being Barry to Barack. To the contrary, he went from being Barack to being Barry--then he went back to being who he is and dropped the false identity that others had imposed on him. He dropped the weight of conformity and stepped into the limelight of self-acceptance, period. Slavery took away black poeples' names, don't forget. To name yourself is the highest act of personal power.

Arianna and Hilary are just nervous about the fact that Obama recently refused AIPAC "funding."

His first name is Barack, not Bartholomew.

'typical immigrant transition' also involved cultural obliteration by cause of acute xenophobia

Such an irresponsible title for this article. In fact, the title is an outright lie. Obama NEVER changed his name. Shame on you, authors.