Indonesian names

Example:

Child's name: Hasan

Father's name: Suparman

Mother's name: Wulandari

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:

Child's name: Hasan Prasetyo

Father's name: Suparman Prakoso

Mother's name: Wulandari Hartono

On the birth certificate, the child's name would be written as "Hasan Prasetyo child of Suparman Prakoso and Wulandari Hartono". 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:

Child's name: Yovan Gunardio Darmawan

Father's name: Budi Darmawan

Mother's name: Natalena Tirrand

On the birth certificate, the child's name would be written as "Yovan Gunardio Darmawan child of Budi Darmawan and Natalena Tirrand". On all other official documents, the child's name would be written as "Yovan Gunardio Darmawan".

The patronymic is usually constructed from the father's name, with the word putra (for males, "son" in Sanskrit) or putri (for females, "daughter" in Sanskrit) appended.

Example:

Child's name: Hasan Suparmanputra

Father's name: Suparman

Mother's name: Wulandari

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 in Iceland, where patronymics are used.

Occasionally, the father's name will be used as the surname, without appending putra or putri (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.

There are some Indonesian ethnic groups or tribes whose people do maintain a family, last or surname. These include the:

• Alas people of Aceh, for example, Keruas, Kepale Dese, or Pagan.
• Bantenese people of Java, for example, Djajadiningrat, Soerjaatmadja, or Prawiranegara.
• Batak people of Sumatra, for example, Nasution, Hutagaol, Sitompul, Karokaro, Rajagukguk, or Sinaga.
• Nias people and people of the islands off the west coast of Sumatra, for example, Amuata, Falakhi, Laoly, Marunduri, Ote, or Wau.
• Minangkabau people of Sumatra, for example, Bodi, Caniago, Sikumbang, Koto, or Piliang.
• Tribes and royalty in Lampung, for example, Djayasinga, Badak, Limau, Gunungalip, or Way Tube.
• Christian Betawi people, for example, Baidan, Djaim, or Senen.
• Royalty and nobles from the Javanese people and the Sundanese people of Java, for example, Sastrowardoyo, Djojohadikusumo, Kolopaking, or Natalegawa, Rakeyan, Raden, Tumenggung, Hadiningrat, Sudrajat.
• Dayak people of Kalimantan, for example, Belawan, Manuwu, Ngayoh, Kuntai, Unus, Apui, Usat, Laing, Djalung, Merang.
• Minahasan people from North Sulawesi, for example, Gerung, Mogot, Rawung, Pangemanan, Sondakh, Wowor, or Tendean.
• Sangirese people from North Sulawesi for example, Kansil, Manganang, Mohede, or Tatengkeng.
• Toraja people from South Sulawesi for example, Batusura, Lumba, Rambulangi, or Manganan.
• Ethnic groups in the Molucca Islands, for example, Malaiholo, Hehamahua, Sahanaya, or Sahilatua.
• Ethnic groups in East Nusa Tenggara, for example, Hurek, Riberu, Fernandez, da Costa, da Gama, Lamaborak, or Leyn.
• Ethnic groups in Papua, for example, Suebu, Solossa, Maniani, Wanggai, or Wonda.

Most Indonesians regardless of personal religion, especially the Javanese, Sundanese and Balinese, have names derived from Sanskrit. 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 Javanese, Balinese, and some part of Sumatran culture. Thus, related Hindu or Indian culture in Indonesia is present not only as part of religion, but also culture. As a result, it is common to find Muslim or Christian Indonesians with Indo-Sanskritic sounding names. Unlike Sanskrit-derived names in Thai and Khmer, the pronunciation of such names in either Javanese or Indonesian is similar to the original Indian pronunciation, except that the "v" is changed to a "w".

Some common names derived from Sanskrit and using the names of Indian Hindu gods or heroes include Indra, Krisna, Wisnu, Surya, Dharma, Rama, Lesmana, Sudarto (Javanese for Siddharta), Dewi, Pertiwi, Sri, Sinta, Ratna, Paramitha, and Kumala. Other Sanskrit derived names used widely in Indonesia also include such as: Wibisana or Wibisono (from the Ramayana figure Vibhisana), Arya or Aryo, Subrata, Aditya, Abimanyu, Bima (from Bhima), Sena, Satya, Cakra (read Chakra), Putri, Putra, Mahardhika, Gatot or Gatut (from the Mahabharata figure Ghatotkacha), Perdana (from the word "Pradhan"), Prameswara or Prameswari, Pertiwi (from Pritvhi), Dewi (Devi), Wijaya (from Vijay), and many more. Even Indonesian government names of institutions, mottoes, and other terms also use Sanskrit, such as to address an Indonesian Navy admiral, the word "Laksamana" (from the Ramayan figure Lakshmana) 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 is Adi and Pura. There are also many mottoes of Indonesian institutions which use Sanskrit language, such as the motto of the Indonesian Military Academy which sounds "Adhitakarya Mahatvavirya Nagarabhakti".

For example, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, former Indonesian president, has a Sanskrit-derived name. "Susilo" comes from sushila meaning "good character" and "Yudhoyono" comes from yudha meaning war or battle and yana meaning an epic story. Sukarno is derived from the Sanskrit su (good) and karno or Karna (a warrior) in Mahabharata.

Some of these Sanskrit-derived names might be used by ningrat or menak (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 are Adiningrat, Notonegoro, Suryasumantri, Dharmokusumo, Wongsoatmodjo, Natalegawa, Kusumaatmadja, Kartadibrata, Kartapranata and Kartasasmita.

In the case of the former Indonesian foreign minister, Marty Natalegawa, "Marty" is his first name, indicating his birth in March. "Natalegawa" is his family name, which indicates that he is from a Sundanese noble family.

Many Indonesians use Sanskrit-derived names to indicate their position among siblings (birth order). The first-born child might bear the name Eka or Eko (mostly Javanese), the second-born child might be named Dwi, the third-born Tri, the fourth-born Catur, and the fifth-born Panca or Ponco (usually Javanese). Some examples are Eko Yuli Irawan, Rizky Dwi Ramadhana, Triyaningsih, and Catur Pamungkas.

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 Chinese Communists and to encourage the ethnic Chinese to assimilate, the state strongly encouraged Chinese 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 to Sudono 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 with Chinese names, the family name (or surname) is traditionally placed in front of the given (or first) name.

As Islam is the largest religion in Indonesia, it is quite common to find Arabic first names or words. Popular Arabic names include Muhammad or Mohammad, Abdul, Ali, Amir, Annisa, Aisyah, Aziz, Ahmad, Hassan, Habibie, Hidayat, Ibrahim, Nur, Nurul, Rahman, Taufik and Umar. Such names are used by Indonesians not of Arab descent, both as first names and as surnames.

Some names derived from Arabic are only found the Nusantara region, such as Nuraini.

Ethnic groups with strong Islamic influence, such as the Acehnese, Malay, Minangkabau, Betawi and Bugis, tend to use Arabic names. For example, Indonesian politicians Teuku Muhammad Hasan (from Aceh) and Mohammad Hatta (from Minangkabau) have Arabic names. However, some of these ethnic groups with strong Islamic influences, such as the Betawi people, have Arabic names which have been suitable with the local pronunciation, such as Rojak (Razak), Leman (Sulaiman), etc.

Arabs settled in Indonesia many generations ago, and their descendants still use their family names, for example, Assegaf, Alhabsyi, or Shihab.

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 from Sarah.

Western names were brought to Indonesia by the Portuguese and later the Dutch. Names with a Dutch origin include Henry, Agus, Johan, Andri, Anto (Antonius), Siska, Roni, Jono, Riska, Suzanna, Rian, and Markus. These names are found in Muslim and Christian people of Java.

Catholic Indonesians may use Latin first or Christian names such as Antonius, Ignasius, Yohanes, Andreas, Matius, Markus, Paulus, Anastasia, Fransiska, Maria, Gregorius, and Theresia. Protestant Indonesians may use Anglicised names such as Kevin, Andrew, Anthony, Martin, George, James, John, Paul, Caroline, Eva, Stephanie, Mary, or Melinda.

There are some similarities between the Indonesian Catholic and Muslim names such as Fatima, Omar, and Soraya.

Due to globalisation non-Christian Indonesians may use shortened Western names such as Courtney, Tony, Tommy, Franky or Julie.

Combinations such as "Ricky Hidayat" (Western-Arabic) or "Lucy Wiryono" (Western-Javanese) are to be found as well.

Western-derived names may indicate the month of birth. For example,

• January: Januri (m), Yanuar (m). Example: Yanuar Tri Firmanda.
• February: usually identified from prefix Febr-. Example: Febriyanto Wijaya.
• March: Marti (derived from Maret, Indonesian word for March, which in turn is derived from Dutch Maart). Example: Marty Natalegawa.
• April: usually identified from prefix Afri- or Apri-. Example: Aprilia Yuswandari.
• May: Mei or its derivations such as Meilanie, Meiliana, Meiliani (all are feminine). Example: Meiliana Jauhari.
• June: Yuni (f) or its derivations such as Yuniar (f), Yuniarti (f), Yuniarto (m). Example: Yuni Shara.
• July: usually identified from prefix Juli- or Yuli-. Example: Alvent Yulianto.
• August: Agus (m) or its derivations such as Agustin (m), Agustina (f), Agustinus (m, usually borne by Indonesian Catholic). Example: Agus Ngaimin.
• September: usually identified from prefix Seft- or Sept-. Example: Seftia Hadi.
• October: usually identified from prefix Oct- or Okt-. Example: Yati Octavia.
• November: usually identified from prefix Nov-. Example: Novita Dewi.
• December: Deasy, Desi, Dessy (all are feminine). Example: Desi Anwar.

The Indonesian patronymic family name is usually constructed of the father's name, with the word putra (for male) or putri (for female) appended. One example is former Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri, the daughter of former President Sukarno. However, it is also common for the father's name alone to form the child's surname (for instance, 'Ali Ahmad' from the father 'Ahmad Sudharma').

Located in Western Sumatra, the Minangkabau are the largest matrilineal culture in the world and the fourth largest ethnic group in Indonesia. Tribe, clan (or suku) titles, properties and names are all handed down through the female line.