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Indonesian names and naming customs reflect themulticultural andmultilingual nature of the over 17,000 islands in theIndonesian archipelago. The world's fourth most populous country, Indonesia is home to numerousethnic groups, each with their ownculture,custom, andlanguage.
The naming customs by no means are consistent, and may differ by ethnic group. For example, most western Indonesians do not have surnames (exceptions:Bataks,Nias,Mentawai,Enggano, and someDayaks), while eastern Indonesians do generally have it (exceptions:Balinese,West Nusa Tenggara people, and some ethnic groups in Sulawesi).
In Indonesia, ranks and professional titles are used. It is also customary to usePak,Bapak, orSaudara to address men andBu,Ibu, orSaudari to address women.Pak andBapak are literally translated as "father".Bapak is more formal and is used much like the English word, "Mister".Saudara (for men) orSaudari (for women) is another term of greater respect and formality. It translates to "kinsman", "lady", or "gentleman".Ibu is literally translated as "mother". It is used as "madam" or "Ms." would be in English. If addressing a man whose name is unknown, one usesBapak and if addressing a woman whose name is unknown, one usesIbu.
A very formal way to address an older person or a person of higher status isTuan orNyonya, which mean "mister" or "madam".
An informal way to address a significantly older person is to useOm,Paman,Bibi, orTante, which mean "uncle" and "aunt". The terms are Dutch-influenced and quite commonly used in the big cities.
Local honorifics continue to be employed throughout Indonesia. In a casual situation,Kakak orKak is used to address a person as an "older sibling".
InJavanese,Mbak is used for "older sister" andMas is used for "older brother".Mbak andMas are also used, for example, to address junior staff in cafes and restaurants in Jakarta.
InSundanese,Teteh orTeh is used for "older sister" andAkang,Kang, orAa is used for "older brother".Mamang,Amang, orMang is used for "uncle" andCeuceu orCeu is used for "aunt".
InBalinese,Mbok is used for "older sister" andBli is used for "older brother".Geg is used for "younger sister" andGus is used for "younger brother".
InBatak,Ito is used by a woman to a man or vice versa to call "older sibling",Eda is used by a woman to call "older sister", andLae is used by man to call "older brother".
InMinangkabau,Uni is used for "older sister" andUda is used for "older brother".
InManado,Ambon, andKupang,Nona is used for "younger sister" andNyong is used for "younger brother".Noni is also used for "younger sister" in Manado.
InPapua,Tete is used for elderly men andNene is used for elderly women.Bapa is used for older men andMama is used for older women.Pace is used for familiar older men andMace is used for familiar older women.Kaka is used for "older sibling".Ade is used for "younger sibling".Nona is used for familiar women of your age or young women.
InMalay cultural spheres, an "older sister" is addressed asKakak orKak and an "older brother" is addressed asAbang orBang. However,Abang is also commonly used in other areas to address abecak driver,angkot driver, butcher, vegetable vendor, fishmonger, or hawker.
Gus (frombagus) is used exclusively to address an honorable Eastern Javanese person with a strong traditional and religious identity. For example, the Indonesian former president,Abdurrahman Wahid, was often addressed as Gus Dur; Dur being the short form of his first name, Abdurrahman. Single names are some of the most common around Indonesia .
For Indonesian royalty, the titles "Sri" and "Prabhu" are used to address kings and monarchs, usually inIndianized kingdoms located in the islands ofSumatra,Java,Bali,Borneo, and other places which had Hindu/Buddhist influence. "Sri Baginda" or "Sri Paduka Baginda" is the formal title used to address a king, for example the sultan ofYogyakarta,Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X. "Prabhu" is also the title used for kings who ruled in the Hindu/Buddhist era, such asPrabu Siliwangi andPrabu Bratasena.
Legally, Indonesianpersonal names are not divided into first and family names. Asingle name is recognized as a full personal name,[1] and the addition of further components–such as additional given names, regional, or ethnicfamily/clan names orpatronymics ormatronymics–is a matter of parents' choice when registering the child's name. Even then, family names or patronymics are just considered part of the full personal name and have no official relevance (for instance, alphabetic ordering of names is always done by the first letter of the full personal name).
The majority of Indonesians do not havefamily names. Rather, their given names are geographically and culturally specific. Names beginning with "Su" in Indonesian spelling ("Soe" in theold orthography) or ending with an "o" are usuallyJavanese people. For example, people called "Suprapto" or "Soeprapto, Joko" are likely to be of Javanese descent.Suharto is another example.
Malays of northeast Sumatra such as inMedan have a unique naming convention based on the order of their birth:[2]
Balinese names are given similarly;Wayan means first born,Made means second born. A Balinese name may also indicatecaste- for instance, aKshatriya person may be named "I Gusti".
"Sitompul" and "Rajagukguk" are clan names usually found in people withBatak orNorth Sumatran heritage.
In general, Indonesian names fall into one of the following categories:
TheMinistry of Home Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia Regulation no. 73 of 2022 about Recording of Names on Residence Document regulates the naming of Indonesian residents. The document requires names to be written in theLatin script, and having no less than two words and no more than 60 characters, including spaces. It also discourages names that contain multiple meanings or negative meanings.[3]
Before the regulation was introduced, there had been people with unusual names like 6 people with names with only a single character, including "." and "N",[4] while on the other side, there were also people with extremely long names like "Rangga Madhipa Sutra Jiwa Cordosega Akre Askhala Mughal Ilkhanat Akbar Suhara Pi-Thariq Ziyad Syaifudin Quthuz Khoshala Sura Talenta", which contains up to 132 characters including spaces.[5]
Most Indonesians do not have family names. Both men and women usually have a given name and then take the name of their father as a last name. Some, but not all, married Indonesian women take the last name of their husband. This name is usually added after their own "last" name. Therefore, it is not rare for married couples to have different last or family names.
Naming also differs regionally. Some Javanese, especially those of the old generation haveonly one name. Bataks have clan names which are used as their surnames. Some Chinese Indonesians have Chinese-style names. In Indonesian telephone directories, names are listed under the first or given name and not under the last or family name.
Example:
On the birth certificate, the child's name would be written as "Hasan child of Suparman and Wulandari". The birth certificate of an extramarital child would bear only the mother's name. On a school diploma, the child's name would be written as "Hasan, child of Suparman". On all other official documents (ID card, driver's license, and passport), only the child's name would appear, "Hasan".
Example:
On the birth certificate, the child's name would be written as "Hasan Prasetyo child of Suparman Prakoso and Wulandari Setiadewi". On all other official documents, the child's name would be written as "Hasan Prasetyo".
If the parents want a family name (or surname) to appear on official documents, the family name has to be included on the child's birth certificate.
Example:
On the birth certificate, the child's name would be written as "Hasan Prakoso child of Suparman Prakoso and Wulandari Suprapto". On all other official documents, the child's name would be written as "Hasan Prakoso".
The patronymic is usually constructed from the father's name, with the wordputra (for males, "son" inSanskrit) orputri (for females, "daughter" in Sanskrit) appended.
Example:
On the birth certificate, the child's name would be written as "Hasan Suparmanputra child of Suparman and Wulandari". On all other official documents, the child's name would be written as "Hasan Suparmanputra". This would be somewhat analogous to the practice inIceland, where patronymics are used.
Occasionally, the father's name will be used as the surname, without appendingputra orputri (in this example it would be Hasan Suparman). This might be done unofficially, that is, not matching the birth certificate. Nevertheless, this format sometimes appears on government documents.
Other countries may modify an official Indonesian name to conform to local standards. This is most apparent in states throughout the world where personal names are divided by law into given/first name and family/last name.
In the Netherlands, for example, a person without an official family name would be given the surnameOnbekend (which means "unknown"). Individuals with multiple-word names will often be given this surname, particularly if the last name on the birth certificate differs from the father's family name. Individuals with a distinct family name may also be given this surname if it is recorded differently on the birth certificate.
Referring to the examples above, a Netherlands identification card would record the individual's name as:
In Germany, the one-word name is used as both given name and surname. This is often displayed on official documents as "Hasan Hasan" or "H. Hasan".
In the U.S., there are at least four ways to record people with a single-word name. One way is to use the existing single word name as the surname. Then, an official body will add"FNU" (first name unknown) as the first or given name. This can lead to a false belief that "Fnu" is a common Indonesian first name.
Conversely, the existing single word name can be used as the given or first name and then"LNU" (last name unknown) may be added as the family, surname or last name. This can lead to the misconception that "Lnu" is a common Indonesian surname. In some cases "Fnu" will be used as the surname or last name.[6]
Third, the existing single word name may be duplicated to give a first name and surname such as "Hasan Hasan".[citation needed]
Fourth, the practice of theU.S. Patent and Trademark Office is to record the single-word name as a first or given name, and to enter a period for the surname.[citation needed]
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There are some Indonesian ethnic groups or tribes whose people do maintain a family, last, or surname. These include the:
Javanese people have various systems fornaming. Some Javanese, especially those from older generations, haveonly one name and no surname. Others use their father's names as well as their own, in a similar manner to Europeanpatronymics. For example,Abdurrahman Wahid's name is derived fromWahid Hasyim, his father, an independence fighter and minister. In turn, Wahid Hasyim's name was derived from his father namedHasyim Asyari, a cleric and founder of theNahdlatul Ulama organization. Another example is formerPresidentMegawati Sukarnoputri; the last part of the name is a patronymic, meaning "Sukarno's daughter".
Some Javanese, especially those from older generations, have a mononymic name and no family name; for example,Sukarno,Suharto, andBoediono. Some names are derived from nativeJavanese language, while some others are derived fromSanskrit andArabic. Names with the prefixSu-, which meansgood, are very popular.
Most Indonesians, especially theJavanese,Sundanese, andBalinese, have names derived fromSanskrit.[7] This is because of the Indian cultural influence which came to the archipelago since thousands of years ago during the Indianization of South East Asian kingdoms, and ever since, it is seen as part of the Indonesian culture, especially Sundanese, Javanese, Balinese, and some part of Sumatran culture. Unlike Sanskrit-derived names inThai andKhmer, the pronunciation of such names in either Javanese or Indonesian is very similar to the original Indian pronunciation, except that thev is changed to aw, and all instances ofs,ś, andṣ are merged into singles.
For example,Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, former Indonesian president, has a Sanskrit-derived name. "Susilo" comes fromsushila meaning "good character" and "Yudhoyono" comes fromyudha meaningwar orbattle andyana meaningan epic story.Sukarno is derived from the Sanskritsu (good) andkarno orKarna (a warrior) inMahabharata.
Several common Indonesian names derived from Sanskrit are deities or heroes names, includingIndra,Krisna,Wisnu,Surya,Bayu,Dewa,Rama,Lesmana, Sudarto (Javanese forSiddharta),Dewi,Pertiwi,Sri,Ratih,Sinta,Laksmi, andSaraswati. Some famous people who uses these names include:Giring Ganesha,Isyana Sarasvati,Indra Lesmana,Dewa Budjana,Dewi Sandra,Laksamana Sukardi, etc..
Other Sanskrit derived names used widely in Indonesia also include such as: Wibisana or Wibisono (from theRamayana figureVibhishana),Arya,Subrata,Aditya,Abimanyu,Bima, Sena, Satya, Cakra (read Chakra), Putri, Putra, Mahardhika, Gatot or Gatut (from theMahabharata figureGhatotkacha), Perdana (from the word "Pradhan"), Prameswara or Prameswari, Wijaya (from Vijay), and many more.
Many Indonesians use Sanskrit-derived names to indicate their position among siblings (birth order). The first-born child might bear the nameEka orEko (mostly Javanese), the second-born child might be namedDwi, the third-bornTri, the fourth-bornCatur, and the fifth-bornPanca orPonco (usually Javanese). Some examples areEko Yuli Irawan,Rizky Dwi Ramadhana,Triyaningsih, andCatur Pamungkas.
Indonesian government names of institutions, mottoes, and other terms also useSanskrit, such as to address anIndonesian Navy admiral, the word "Laksamana" (from the Ramayan figureLakshmana) is used. The "Adipura award" (Indonesian:Penghargaan Adipura) which is an award given to cities throughout Indonesia from the central government for cleanliness and urban environmental management also uses from Sanskrit language which isAdi andPura. There are also many mottoes of Indonesian institutions which useSanskrit language, such as the motto of theIndonesian Military Academy which sounds "Adhitakarya Mahatvavirya Nagarabhakti".
Some of these Sanskrit-derived names might be used byningrat ormenak (noble) families, especially among Javanese and Sundanese, in much the same way as some family names in western culture indicate lineage and nobility. Some such names areJayadiningrat, Adiningrat, Notonegoro, Suryasumantri, Dharmokusumo, Wongsoatmodjo, Natalegawa, Kusumaatmadja, Kartadibrata, Kartapranata, and Kartasasmita.
Under President Suharto, Indonesia attempted to deconstruct organisations and groups that might represent an internal security threat. As a part of the policy to limit the influence of the ChineseCommunists and to encourage the ethnic Chinese to assimilate, the state strongly encouragedChinese Indonesian individuals to change their names. This was a difficult balance because while the names were changed, laws continued to identify them as 'different' from indigenous Indonesian groups. Indonesian businessman, Liem Sioe Liong, for example, had his name changed toSudono Salim. Some people did not change their names (e.g.,Kwik Kian Gie,Liem Swie King, etc.).
Many of the later generations have kept the Indonesian form of the name. Other Chinese Indonesians, however, maintain their Chinese name as well as their family names. As is customary withChinese names, the family name (or surname) is traditionally placed in front of the given (or first) name.
AsIslam is the largest religion in Indonesia, it is quite common to findArabic first names or words. Popular Arabic names includeMuhammad,Ahmad,Arief,Ibrahim,Ismail,Aisyah,Nur,Aminah,Nabila andZahra. Such names are used by Indonesians not of Arab descent, both as first names and as surnames.[8]
Ethnic groups with strong Islamic influence, such as theAcehnese,Malay,Minangkabau,Betawi andBugis, tend to use Arabic names. For example, Indonesian politiciansTeuku Muhammad Hasan (from Aceh) andMohammad Hatta (from Minangkabau) have Arabic names. However, some of these ethnic groups with strong Islamic influences, such as theBetawi people, have Arabic names which have been suitable with the local pronunciation, such as Leman (Sulaiman), Rojak (Razak), etc.
Arabs settled in Indonesia many generations ago, and their descendants still use their family names, for example, Assegaf, Alhabsyi, or Shihab.
There are many Javanese-styleArabic names such as "Kanapi" (from Hanafi), "Marpuah" (from Marfu'ah), "Ngabdurohman" (fromAbdurrahman), "Sarip" (from Sharif), "Slamet" (from Salamah), "Solikin" (from Salihin), etc.
The name "Maysaroh" is a common female name amongst the Betawi people. However, this name is actually a male name in Arab countries. It is probably mistaken with the name Saroh, which is in turn derived fromSarah.
There are also people in Indonesia who were named after classical scholars of Islam, such as "Ghozali" (fromAl-Ghazali), "Romli" (fromShihab al-Din al-Ramli) or "Syafi'i" (fromAl-Shafi'i).
Western names were brought to Indonesia by the Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, and later from American-English cultural exports. Names with western origin include Henry, Agus, Johan, Andri, Anto (Antonius), Siska, Roni, Jono, Riska, Suzanna, Rian, Markus, and many more.
Indonesian Christians (Protestants and Catholics) may use Christian first names and/orbaptismal names, derived more or less directly fromLatin, such as Yohanes, Andreas, Matius, Markus, Lukas, Paulus, Maria, Stefanus, Yakobus, Filipus, and many more Biblical names. These names have been Indonesianized to conform with the Indonesian pronunciations (or as they appear in theIndonesian Bible translations). But more recently, many parents also use Anglicised names such as Peter, Andrew, James, John, Paul, Eva, Stephanie, Mary, etc.. Many non-Christian Indonesians may also use Western names such asJon,Sam,Paul,Brian,Toni,Tomi,Anne, orYulia. Many female names are also suffixed with either-ina and-ita, both arediminutive suffixes in Spanish.
Combinations of names from different origins such as "Ricky Hidayat" (Western-Arabic) are to be found as well.
Indonesian names may indicate the month of birth. For example,
Some Indonesian patronymic last names are constructed of the father's name, with the wordputra (for male) orputri (for female) appended. One example is former Indonesian PresidentMegawati Sukarnoputri, the daughter of former PresidentSukarno. However, it is also common for the father's name alone to form the child's last name (for instance, 'Ali Ahmad' from the father 'Ahmad Sudharma').
Located in Western Sumatra, theMinangkabau are the largest matrilineal culture in the world and the fourth largest ethnic group in Indonesia. Tribe, clan (orsuku) titles, properties and names are all handed down through the female line.
Other than the above linguistical sources, Indonesians also gave their children names from their religious background, irrelevant with their mother language or source language of those names. Hindu names typically includes some deity names, and Sanskrit in origin, while Muslim names usually contain some variation of "Muhammad" and other Arabic names (with no apparent consensus on transliteration rule), and Christian names are either borrowed from European languages, or assimilated from them into Indonesian spellings (e.g. Christian -> Kristian). There are some similarities between the Indonesian Christian and Muslim names such as names that can be found in both Abrahamic religions like Adam, Abraham/Ibrahim, Yusuf/Yusup, Harun, Salomo/Sulaiman, Yunus, Ayub.
It is noteworthy that names based on religious connotations sometimes doesn't necessarily means that the person (or their parents) adherents of said religion, such as Christians/Muslims with Hindu names (e.g. Wisnu, a common male name,Giring Ganesha, etc.), Muslims/Hindu/Buddhist with Christian sounding names (e.g.Kristiani Herrawati), or Buddhist/Hindu/Christian with Muslim/Arabic names (e.g. Sulaiman, Hassan, and other common Arabic names), as many Javanese (and Indonesians to a larger degree) took inspirations from various cultural sources. Some names even mix elements from different religious sources, such as "Wisnu Kristianto" (Wisnu fromVishnu, and Kristianto fromChristian), "Muhammad Wisnu", etc. which makes them truly unique from anthropological's point of view. This naming system is especially prevalent from people living in metropolitan areas, or people withJavanese background, asJavanese names tend to be more liberal, while less prevalent in other cultures and regions where the majority of the people are still using traditional names and naming system, or where religion still play a very large emphasis on the daily lives.
It is uncommon, and considered rude, to refer to an Indonesian person by their full first name, unless that name has only one or two syllables.[citation needed] Former Indonesian presidentAbdurrahman Wahid, for example, had "Abdurrahman" shortened to "Dur". Many Indonesians use a different name altogether; a woman born as "Khadijah" may be known as "Ida" or "Ijah" to all her friends and family.
InSundanese culture it is common for the nickname to become integrated as the first name. For example, someone with the name "Komariah", "Gunawan", or "Suryana" written in their birth certificate may become known as "Kokom" for Komariah, "Gugun", or "Wawan" for Gunawan, and "Yaya" or "Nana" for Suryana. The result is rhyming names such as "Kokom Komariah", "Wawan Gunawan", and "Nana Suryana". Notable people having such names include politicianAgum Gumelar, comedianEntis Sutisna (with stage nameSule), and politicianDedi Mulyadi.
Indonesian people might also take a Western style nickname such as Kevin, Kenny, Tommy (Tomi), Jimmy, Ricky, Dicky, Bob, Nicky, Nico, Susy, Taty, Lucy (Lusi), Nancy, Mary (Maria) and so on. It does not necessarily mean their names are Thomas (for Tommy) or James (for Jimmy). For instance,Suharto's son, Hutomo Mandalaputra is popularly known as "Tommy Suharto". The "Tommy" here was not derived from "Thomas", but from the Javanese name, "Hutomo".
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In some ethnic groups it is common to include a nobility title into the formal personal name. Due to the various traditions of nobility in each ethnic group, it may be difficult for people from outside a particular ethnic group to discern the nobility title from the personal name.
Acehnese people have titles such asTeuku orTeungku (male) andCut (female). Celebrities with such titles include, for example, Teuku Wisnu andCut Tari.
Balinese people have titles based on castes such asIda Bagus for male andIda Ayu for female (Brahmana caste),I Dewa,I Dewa Ayu,I Gusti,I Gusti Ayu,Ida I Dewa Agung,Cokorda/Tjokorda, andAnak Agung (Ksatriya caste), andNgakan,Kompyang, andSang (Waisya caste).
Banjar people have titles such asAndin,Antung, andAnang (male) andGusti andGaluh (female).
Bantenese people have titles such asTubagus (male) andRatu (female). People with such titles include, for example,Tubagus Hasanuddin andRatu Atut Chosiyah.
Belitung people have titles such asKi Agus (male) andNyi Ayu (female).
Buginese people andMakassarese people have 13 titles such asAndi,Petta,Datu,Bau,Daeng,Karaeng,Kare,Puang,Arung,Iye,La/I,Opu, andSombaya. People with such titles include, for example,Andi Mappanyukki andKaraeng Matoaya.
Butonese people have titles such asLa (male) andWa (female). People with such titles include, for example,La Nyalla Mattalitti and Wa Ode Nurhayati.
Javanese people have titles such asRaden Mas,Raden, andMas (male),Raden Ayu,Raden Nganten, andMas Ayu (married female), andRaden Ajeng,Raden Rara, andMas Ajeng (unmarried female).
Malay people have titles such asTengku (male and female) andDatuk (male).
Minangkabau people have titles such asDatuak,Sutan, andMarah for male. People with such titles include, for exampleSutan Sjahrir andMarah Roesli.
Palembang people have titles such asRaden Mas,Masagus,Kemas, andKiagus (male) andRaden Ayu,Masayu,Nyimas, andNyayu (female).
Sasak people have titles such asLalu (male) andBaiq (female). People with such titles include, for example,Lalu Muhammad Zohri and Baiq Lukita Kirana Putri.
Sumba people have titles such asUmbu (male) andRambu (female).
Indonesian passports do not divide names into given name, middle name, and family name, and Indonesians who travel outside of Indonesia have trouble filling out registries due to not understanding how they ought to subdivide their names.[9]
According to theChicago Manual of Style, Indonesian names areindexed differently according to the individual practices and customs. If there is one name, it is only indexed under that name. If the family name is printed first, index under the family name with no comma and no inversion.[10]
Under Indonesian naming conventions, all components[...]
