Article about names which are common used in Indonesia and the tendency of Indonesian people in giving name for their child.
What is a name? That was what Shakespeare said....

Artikel tentang nama2 yang umum dipakai di Indonesia dan kecenderungan orang Indonesia dalam memberi nama untuk anaknya.
Apakah arti sebuah nama? Begitu kata Shakespeare....

What's in a name? Apakah arti sebuah nama? Begitu kata Shakespeare. Nama di sini bukanlah berarti suku Nama, sebuah suku di Afrika bagian Selatan, nama adalah sebutan panggilan yang unik di setiap umat manusia untuk membedakan dirinya dgn orang lain. Nama menunjukkan jati diri seseorang, dari mana ia berasal, apa latar belakangnya, apa status sosialnya, dsb.

What's in a name ("nama" in Indonesian)? That was what Shakespeare said. The term Nama here does not mean the tribe Nama, a tribe in the South of Africa, name is a term that is used to call among the human beings to differentiate them from the others. Name shows the real identity of a person, from where s/he is from, what is his/her background, what is his/her social status, etc.

Segera setelah seorang anak lahir di dunia, orang tuanya mencarikan nama untuk anaknya. Biasanya dipilih nama yang bagus2, nama yang memiliki arti yang mengesankan, meski ada juga yang hanya mengikuti tradisi dgn hanya memilih nama yg umum dipakai di daerahnya, atau malah dinamakan sama persis dgn nama ayahnya, seperti presiden Amerika Serikat skrg ini.

Soon after a baby is born on the world, his/her parents look for a name for their children. Usually the chosen names are good, names that have impressive meaning, although there are some that only follows the tradition by choosing names that is commonly used in that area, or possibly be named exactly the same as the father's name, like the current United States president.

Waktu aku masih kecil, beberapa nama yang umum dipakai adalah seperti: Natalia, Andi, Monika, Andre, dsb. Yaitu nama2 yg terdengar seperti nama orang Barat. Ada juga nama2 yang terdengar seperti nama org Indonesia spt: Agung, Dimas, Agus, Hendrawan, serta nama saya sendiri, nama yang khas Indonesia. Beberapa waktu lalu, ketika akan ada suatu kegiatan, dan semua yg ikut ditanyain mau makanan apa, atau kalau2 ada pantangan apa. Saya ya pilih saja salah satu pilihan yang dia sediakan. Lalu pihak sana kirim email balik, menanyakan, "Are you moslem? Do you need halal food?" Sontak saya menjawab, "No, I'm not. I can eat any food." Rupanya nama saya terdengar seperti nama muslim yah. Tak heran, Singapore Idol yg lalu saja namanya Hady Mirza.

When I was a child, names that were commonly used were like: Natalia, Andi, Monika, Andre, etc. Which were names that sounded like Western names. There were also names that sounded like Indonesian people's names like: Agung, Dimas, Agus, Hendrawan, and also my own name (Hadi), a name that has Indonesian characteristics. Some time ago, when there was an event, and all people who joined were asked what food they want, or if there are some restrictions. I just chose one of the choices that were provided. Then the other party sent an email back, asking, "Are you a Moslem? Do you need halal food?" Abruptly I answered, "No, I'm not. I can eat any food." It turned out that my name sounds like a Moslem, isn't it. No wonder, the Singapore Idol last time had a name called Hady Mirza.

Waktu SMP ada temanku yg memakai nama muslim spt: Choirul Anam, Muhaimin, Masruchin, bahkan ada yg bernama Isa! Ketika SMA saya melihat teman2 saya banyak yang mempunyai nama2 Barat, jrg yang namanya masih memakai nama Tionghoa. Ada satu hal yang cukup menarik adalah bahwa nama Barat yang dipakai kebanyakan adalah nama2 Inggris, seperti: Stephanie atau variannya Stefani, Stefanie, lalu Jimmy, Melissa, Adrian, Aileen, Alan, Alex, Annice, Anthony, Ronald, Christine, dan lain sebagainya yg kalo diteruskan bisa nggak habis2. Yang punya nama2 seperti tadi itu bisa ada bbrp org yg memakai nama sama. Padahal ada banyak nama Inggris yang aku tak pernah dengar ada org Indo yang memakainya spt: George, Ashlee, Archibald, Cameron, Kyle, Chuck, Montgomery, Murphy, Oswald, dll. Selain itu saya melihat tak banyak yang memakai nama selain nama Inggris, memang ada beberapa juga sih, seperti: Imelda, Fernando, Alfredo, Anton, Ferdinand, Elvira, Ines, Hanna.

When I was in secondary school there were my friends using Moslem names like: Choirul Anam, Muhaimin, Masruchin, even there was one who had Isa (Jesus) as his name! When I was in high school I noticed that many of my friends had Western names, it is ununsual to see that someone still uses Chinese name. There is one thing that was quite interesting, that the Western names used are mostly English names, like Stephanie or the variants Stefani, Stefanie, and then Jimmy, Melissa, Adrian, Aileen, Alan, Alex, Annice, Anthony, Ronald, Christine, and so on and so on that if I were to continue it would not finish. The ones who have names like that may have a same name but actually different individuals. Even so, there are a lot of English names where no Indonesians ever used them as long as I know, like: George, Ashlee, Archibald, Cameron, Kyle, Chuck, Montgomery, Murphy, Oswald, etc. Other that that I noticed that not many used names other than English names, although there are several, like: Imelda, Fernando, Alfredo, Anton, Ferdinand, Elvira, Ines, Hanna.

Banyak pula yang suka memakai nama Kristen, tak peduli dia beragama Kristen atau bukan. Ada yg bernama Christin tapi bukan Kristen. Yang lain ada yg memakai nama2 di Alkitab, nabi-nabi, atau nama Santo/Santa atau nama bapak2 gereja. Nama di Alkitab spt: Abednego, Petrus, Yusuf, Yosua, Yahya (Yohanes), Maria, Tirza, Hezron, Yosafat, serta nama2 Inggrisnya spt: Michael, Matthew, John atau Johnie, Peter, James. Nama Santo/Santa spt: Valentina, Agustinus, Xaverius. Atau tokoh gereja seperti Polikarpus.

There are also many who like to use Christian names, no matter whether they are have Christian as their religion. There are ones whose name are Christin but they are not Christian. Some of the others uses names in the Bible, prophets, or names of Saints or names of church fathers. Names in Bible like (Indonesian version): Abednego, Petrus, Yusuf, Yosua, Yahya (Yohanes), Maria, Tirza, Hezron, Yosafat, and the English version of the names like: Michael, Matthew, John or Johnie, Peter, James. Names of Saints like: Valentina, Agustinus, Xaverius. Or famous people of the church like Polikarpus.

Ada juga yang memakai nama dewa-dewi. Contohnya seperti Diana (Dewi Perburuan bangsa Romawi, ekuivalen dgn Artemis di Yunani), Flora (dewi bunga), Luna (dewi bulan), Saraswati (dewi kebijaksanaan), Wisnu(dewa pemelihara), Indra (dewa cuaca dan raja kahyangan), Surya (dewa matahari).

There are some who use gods' names. For example Diana (Hunting Goddess of the Romes, equivalent to Artemis in Greece), Flora (goddess of flower), Luna (moon goddess), Saraswati (wisdom goddess), Wisnu (carer god), Indra (god of weather and lord of Svargaloka in Hinduism), Surya (god of sun).

Pernah suatu kali ketika berkenalan dgn orang Vietnam, dan seusai saya menyebutkan nama saya, dia bertanya, "What is your western name?" Saya jadi bingung, nama saya cuma itu kok, kecuali kalau dia tanya siapa nama Tionghoanya, itu baru ada. Rupanya karena banyaknya orang Indonesia yang memakai nama Barat, sehingga dikira org Indo yg tidak bernama Barat mesti punya juga nama Baratnya.

There is one occasion when I introduced myself to a Vietnamese, after I mentioned my name, he asked "What is your western name?" I became confused, my name is only this one, except if he asked what is my Chinese name, which I have one. It turned out that because there are a lot of Indonesians that use Western names, he thought that if an Indonesian's name was not a Western name, he actually had a Western name.

Yang saya pertanyakan ialah mengapa banyak yang suka memakai nama Inggris, padahal orang Barat tidak hanya Inggris, banyak juga negara2 lain dgn budaya yg berbeda2. Kalau kita lihat, org Filipina dan Timor Timur banyak yg pakai nama bukan Inggris, spt: Domingos, Amando, Filipe, Ramos, dll. Sebenarnya banyak lho, nama non-Inggris yang belum dipakai seperti Boris, Vladimir, Jaroslav, Gustav, Ulrike, Schmidt, Konrad, Petersohn, Wolfgang, Giuliano, Annetta, Manuela, dlsb.

What I am questioning is why are there so many people that use English names, although Western people do not consist of only English people, there are some other nations with different cultures. If we notice, Filipinos and East Timor people mostly use non-English names, like: Domingos, Amando, Filipe, Ramos, etc. In fact there is a lot, you know, non-English names that have not been used like Boris, Vladimir, Jaroslav, Gustav, Ulrike, Schmidt, Konrad, Petersohn, Wolfgang, Giuliano, Annetta, Manuela, and so on, and so on.

Saya melihat orang Jawa yang memakai nama Jawa sendiri juga makin menurun. Nama2 orang desa dulu ada yg diberi nama hari spt: Rebo, Kliwon, Wage (spt nama komponis kita), lalu Dhingklik (kursi kecil), Gudel (anak kerbau). Sedangkan nama2 spt Poniman, Wakidi, Katemo, Mukinem, Pariyem, sdh tidak umum lagi, terutama di kota. Sudah jarang sekali anak kecil yang punya nama spt itu. Kebanyakan memakai nama yg dianggap lebih bagus spt: Rahayu, Ika, Retno, Sinta, Bambang, nama2 yg diawali sgn Su- spt Suharto, Sukarno, Susilo atau memakai nama2 Barat spt Randy, Ivan atau nama Arab spt Hambali, Shihab, Assegaf.

I see the declining of Javanese people who use typical Javanese names. The name of villagers were taken from the day name such as: Rebo, Kliwon, Wage (like Indonesian Anthem's componist's name), then Dhingklik (small chair), Gudel (calf). And the names such as Poniman, Wakidi, Katemo, Mukinem, Pariyem... are not common anymore, especially in cities. It's very uncommon for kids to have such names. Most of them use considered better names such as Rahayu, Ika, Retno, Sinta, Bambang, or the names that start with Su- like Suharto, Sukarno, Susilo or using Western name such as Randy, Ivan or Arabic name such as Hambali, Shihab, Assegaf.

Saya baru saja tahu, kalau Wati itu dlm bahasa Arab artinya persetubuhan, tp sepertinya di Indo itu menjadi identik dgn wanita, contohnya antariksawati. Entah berasal dari mana itu. Pembaca ada yg tahu?

I just knew that Wati is a sexual intercourse in Arabic, but it seems that in Indonesia the name means a woman, for example antariksawati (female astronaut). I don't know where it came from. Do you know that?

Saya melihat kecenderungan orang memakai nama Barat adalah makin besar, bahkan bekas pembantu saya dulu memberi nama anaknya dgn nama Henri. Bahkan ada orang tua yg memberi nama anaknya sama persis dgn nama penemu spt: Enrico Fermi, Thomas Alva Edison, bahkan Albert Einstein! Saya merasa kok nggak kreatif sih, dikopi persis namanya.

I noticed the tendency that more and more people use Western names, even my ex-housemaid gave her baby a name called Henri. There was even parents who gave their baby a name that is the same as inventors like Enrico Fermi, Thomas Alva Edison, even Albert Einstein! I think it is sooo not creative, the names are copied without modifications.

Saya jadi melihat bahwa orang Indonesia suka tiru2 nama asing, sesuatu yang tidak kulihat di bangsa2 lain seperti Jepang, Korea, Thailand, India, dll. Kalau memang bangsa Indonesia, kenapa pula mesti malu memakai nama asli Indonesia? Memang untuk kasus2 orang Tionghoa ada yg tak begitu suka mengadopsi nama penduduk lokal sebagai ganti nama Tionghoanya, maka mereka lebih memilih nama Barat. Dulu waktu SMP, ada teman2ku yang namanya unik2, spt: Maharani, Sulung, Bangkit, Buang, Gelar Luhur, Isish (entah nama bikinan sendiri ato ada hub dgn dewa Mesir saya tak tahu, yg jelas isis dlm bhs Jawa artinya sejuk).

It makes me feel that Indonesian like to copycat foreign names, something I don't see in other nations like Japan, Korea, Thailand, India, etc. If you're Indonesian, why should we be shy to use the original Indonesian names? I know that for the case of some Indonesian Chinese, some of them don't really like to adopt the local people names as substitutes of their Chinese names, so they prefer Western names. When I was in Junior high school, some of my friends have unique names, such as: Maharani, Sulung, Bangkit, Buang, Gelar, Luhur, Isish (Don't know whether this is a self-made name or there is relations with Egypt god, what I know is isis in Javanese means cool).

Sebenarnya bisa lho menciptakan nama2 unik, mengingat di Indonesia adalah cukup bebas dalam memberi nama, tdk spt di bbrp kebudayaan lain yang mana nama anak pertama mesti sama dgn nama ayahnya, atau dengar2 di Singapur nama anak yg didaftarkan tidak boleh memakai nama2 tertentu. Nama orang Barat saja sering cukup unik, setidaknya bagi standar Indonesia, contohnya seperti: Brown, Bush (semak2), White. Contoh nama yg unik spt Kristia Monetera, Satu Cahaya Langit, atau spt anak dari Melly Goeslaw yg dinamai "Anakku Lelaki" dan adiknya diberi nama "Pria Bernama". Lalu, anak dari Sitok Srengenge (artinya satu matahari), dinamakan "Laire Siwi Mentari" (lahirnya anak matahari). Ada juga joke2 ttg org yg bernama Saklitinov, dan Saklitinov itu ternyata singkatan dari Sabtu Kliwon Tiga November. Olala...

In fact it is possible to create unique names, considering that in Indonesia it is quite free to give names, unlike in certain cultures that names of the first child must be the same as the father's, or as I heard, in Singapore the child's name that was registered may not use certain names. Westerners' names sometimes are quite unique, at least if seen from Indonesians' standard, for example like: Brown, Bush, White. An example of unique names like Kristia Monetera, Satu Cahaya Langit (one shine of the sky), or like Melly Goeslaw's child that was named "Anakku Lelaki" (My Son is a Man) and his little brother was named "Pria Bernama" (Popular Man). Also, Sitok Srengenge's (meaning: one sun) child was named "Laire Siwi Mentari" (the child of the sun that was born). There is also jokes about a person named Saklitinov, and the name Saklitinov turned out to be an acronym of Sabtu Kliwon Tiga November (The Kliwon (Javanese calendar day name) Saturday of Third November). Olala...