Why does President Barack Obama have the name Obama?

Answer 1

Obama is his last name, which he inherited from his biological father. He has used it all his life and has never tried to change it. (Contrary to internet myth, he was never adopted by his step-father, Lolo Soetoro.) Sometimes, when he is jokingly referring to himself, he will just use his last name: "You guys are probably wondering, why did Obama do this?"

When reporters talk to the president, they call him Mr. President or President Obama. When they write about him, they generally use his title the first time, and then they may just use his last name in the rest of the article (the New York Times, however, has a different custom for presidents-- they refer to him as Mr. Obama, which they believe is more polite). Some Talk Shows that are opposed to the president will never use his title-- they will just refer to him as "Obama" to show they don't think he should be president; the same thing was done by talk shows that did not like President Bush.