SOS Does Not Stand For Save Our Souls

Later a backronym was created for it in popular usage, and SOS became associated with mnemonic phrases such as "save our souls" and "save our ship". Moreover, due to its high-profile use in emergencies, the phrase "SOS" has entered general usage to informally indicate a crisis or the need for ...

You know it's a distress signal, but what does it actually stand for? A lot of people think it's an abbreviation for “save our souls.” (It's not.)

“SOS" is still recognized as ... troubled ships at sea – means "Save Our Souls" or "Save Our Ship”, but that’s not strictly true....

SOS was first transmitted in the U.S. in 1909 from the Arapahoe vessel and was later used alongside CQD when the Titanic was sinking. The U.S. officially adopted the signal after Titanic.

The letters in “SOS” didn’t initially stand for anything; they were originally chosen because they form a sequence of Morse code that can be transmitted more quickly than others.

It was the distress signal that originated in the maritime community for communication used specifically for ships, based on Morse Code, that is represented by three dots, three dashes, and three more dots.

The code was first adopted in 1908 when the International Radiotelegraph Convention passed a motion which suggested that 'ships in distress shall use the following signal: . . . – – – . . . repeated at brief intervals'. Prior to this, different countries would have different codes that indicated a distress signal such as the 'CQD' signal, as well as the 'NC'. But what exactly does 'SOS' stand for if not 'Save Our Souls' or 'Save Our Ship'?

And SOS looks the same upside down ... when written on a beach. It went into effect on July 1, 1908 and has since been believed to be an acronym for Save Our Ship, Save Our Souls and other variations....

Nope. The letters SOS stand for nothing. Not "Save Our Ship," not "Save Our Souls" — it wasn't even originally designed to stand for letters of the English alphabet.