Area's Other Obamas Revel in Rare Moniker

"It was a really big deal for a fairly brief period," said John Eisenhour, 69, of Alexandria, who shares a pronunciation with the 34th president if not an exact spelling. He was a high school student when his surname entered the Oval Office, and he instantly enjoyed a more conspicuous presence at school dances. "The young ladies would remember your name, which wasn't always a good thing."

Nicanor Obama said he has been riding a small social wave that started election night, when he was waved under the rope line at a Washington nightclub with no cover charge. He was the toast of the delirious crowds that night, he said.

And last week, when Nicanor and his family went to visit a cousin and her new baby at Virginia Hospital Center, they created a minor buzz in the lobby when they asked for Josephina Obama's room.

"They said, 'Obama? Is she one of the Obamas? Are they here?' " Nicanor said. "They treated us like VIPs."

Nicanor, like most of the Obamas in this area, is a native of Equatorial Guinea. The name is common there -- much more so than in Kenya, in fact, where the president-elect's father was from -- and Guineans wonder whether they can make their own claim to a branch of the president-elect's family tree. There are also a few Obamas of Japanese decent.

"Every day, I'm having so much fun with this," said Susie Obama, a real estate investor in Palm Coast, Fla. "When I stop at the bank, they say, 'Roll out the red carpet.' I get e-mails from Japan saying, 'Hello to the first lady.' "

It's all a big improvement over her most recent name association, she said.

"I'm so glad Obama is finally a good guy. I really had a hard time for a while there with Osama."

Staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.