Osama VinLaden : Footballer forging career despite embarrassing name problem

Might be time to visit the registry, mate. Photo / Supplied

Famous figures can often spark a wave of baby names during the peaks of their career.

Shaquille became one of the most popular names for newborns in the United States in the 1990s when Shaquille O'Neal was dominating the NBA and no doubt there's plenty of Cristianos and Leos running around in Europe and South America right now.

But we bet emerging Peruvian footballer Osama VinLaden Jimenez Lopez (v is pronounced b in Spanish) wishes his old man picked a different world figure to salute with his name.

The 18-year-old made global headlines this week after signing with a new club in the second division of his nation's football league.

In a radio interview Osama explained it was his father's decision to name him after the former al-Qaeda leader – and that his brother didn't escape either.

"My brother's name is Saddam Hussein and my father wanted to name the third child George Bush, but it was a girl," he said. "When Osama bin Laden knocked down the Twin Towers, the name was in the news and I was born (a year later) on October 7, 2002.

"There are no other people who call themselves that. I've been through this situation and it seems normal. My shirt says Osama. I thought about changing my name, but now I am calm."

The 18-year-old added: "My father liked it.

"There is a person called Hitler also in Peru. Jesus saved the world and there are Jesuses who do harm. Because there is an Osama who killed people, I don't think there has to be a law about the name. It draws a lot of attention, from what I see.