Indonesian name

When addressing a man in Indonesia, it is customary to add “Pak” or “Bapak” (in translation - “father”), while addressing a woman - “Ibu” (“mother”). The same calls are used if the person’s name is unknown. When expressing great respect, the appeal of “Saudara” is used. With respect to former President Abdurrahman Wahid , the respectful attitude of “Gus” (from “bagus”) is used; since his name "Abdurrahman" is abbreviated to "Dur", you can find his name as "Gus Dur".

Indonesia does not use the Western system, in which each person has a first and last name. The vast majority of Indonesians have no surnames. In general, Indonesian names can be divided into the following classes:

• Names consisting of just one word (such as Sukarno or Suharto )
• Names consisting of two or more words, none of which is a surname (for example, Susilo Bambang Yudoyono )
• Names consisting of two or more words, among which there is a surname (for example, Abdul Haris Nasution )
• Names consisting of two or more words, among which there is a middle name (for example, Megawati Sukarnoputri or Abdurrahman Wahid )

In most cases, the name of the Indonesian is his personal name and the name of his father. Some of the married women add the middle name of the husband to their name, but place it at the same time after their own; thus, it may well be that married people in names have nothing in common.

Most residents of Java use only a single-word name. The inhabitants of northern Sumatra do not have surnames, but there are clan names. Chinese-born Indonesians use the Chinese naming system .

Single Word Names

Example:

Baby Name: Gem

Father Name: Suparman

Mother Name: Woolandari

On the birth certificate, the baby’s name will be written in the following form:

Gema, child of Suparman and Woolandari

Only the name of the mother will be entered on the birth certificate of the illegitimate child.

In the school certificate, the name of the child from the example will be written in the following form:

Gema, Suparman's child

In all other official documents, only a personal name will be written:

Gema

Names from a few words, but without a surname

Example:

Baby Name: Gema Pertivi

Father's Name: Suparman Perkas

Mother Name: Vening Woolandari

On the birth certificate, the baby’s name will be written as follows:

Gema Pertivi, child of Suparman Perkas and Vening Woolandari

In all other official documents, the person’s name will be written like this:

Gema Pertivi

Names from several words with a surname

If the parents want the surname to appear in the child’s documents, it should be included in the name. Example:

Baby Name: Gema Alatas

Father Name: Suparman Alatas

Mother Name: Vening Woolandari Asegaff

On the birth certificate, the baby’s name will be written as follows:

Gema Alatas, child of Suparman Alatas and Vening Woolandari Asegaff

In all other official documents, the name of the person will be written like this:

Gema Alatas

Names from several words with a middle name

Patronymic is usually constructed from the name of the father with the addition of the words “putra” (translated from Sanskrit - “son”) or “putri” (translated from Sanskrit - “daughter”). Example:

Baby Name: Gema Suparmanputra

Father Name: Suparman

Mother Name: Woolandari

On the birth certificate, the baby’s name will be written as follows:

Gema Suparmanputra, child of Suparman and Woolandari

In all other official documents, the name of the person will be written like this:

Gema Suparmanputra

Sometimes the name of the father can be used as a middle name without the prefixes mentioned. This is considered as an informal form, but sometimes it can be found in official documents.

In countries where everyone has a family name, Indonesian names are sometimes transformed to local standards.

In the Netherlands, a person who does not have an official name is given the name “Onbekend” (“Unknown”) in the documents.

In Germany , if a person’s name consists of only one word, he is used both as a name and as a surname. As a result, Gema turns into “Gema Gema” or “G. Gema”.

In the United States , if a person’s name consists of only one word, they can be treated in three ways:

1. The name is written in the column "Last name", and in the column "Name" is written the abbreviation "FNU" ("First name unknown" - "First name unknown"). People unfamiliar with bureaucratic requirements have the impression that Fnu is a common Indonesian name.
2. The name is written in the "Name" column, and in the column "Last name" the abbreviation "LNU" ("Last name unknown" - "Last name unknown") is written. People unfamiliar with bureaucratic requirements have the impression that Lnu is a common Indonesian surname.
3. The name fits both in the column “Name” and in the column “Last name”, as in Germany.

• A. Kohar Rony, Indonesian Names: A Guide to Bibliographic Listing , Modern Indonesia Project, Cornwell University, 1970 [1] (link not available)