Osama (Arabic: أسامة, Usāma), also spelt Osamah, Oussama, and Usama, is an Arabic masculine given name.
Gender | Male |
---|---|
Language(s) | Arabic |
Origin | |
Word/name | Arabic |
Meaning | One of the lion attributes; feline, predator |
Region of origin | Middle East and North Africa |
Other names | |
Alternative spelling | Osama, Osamah, Oussama, Usama, Usaamah |
The name derives from the Arabic stem اسم A-S-M Alif Sin Mim "name" and means more or less "the one with a name". It is one of the Arabic male given names for "lion", the lion being considered as an animal with fame. From this point of view, sama is equivalent of the Latin name Augustus, "majestic". In Hebrew the root is reduced to שם from Proto-Semitic *šim-, from Proto-Afroasiatic *(ʔi-)sim- ("name"), [1] each denoting some aspect of the animal.[2][3]
The name has declined drastically in popularity in Britain since 2001, mainly due to negative associations with al-Qaeda's general emir Osama bin Laden.[4]