Malaysian Name
Encyclopedia
Personal names in Malaysia are extremely useful in tracing a person's cultural and ethnic background as Malaysia comprises many ethnicities and cultures in which, each has its own distinct system of names. Personal name
s are to a certain degree, regulated by the national registration department, especially since the introduction of the National Registration Identity Card. The Malaysian Chinese
are the only major ethnic group in Malaysia to use family name
s. Most other groups, including the ethnic Malays, Orang Asli
and the Bumiputera
of Sabah and Sarawak, share a naming custom that includes the use of a personal name followed by a patronym
name.
and follow some Arabic naming customs
. However, a significant portion of Malay names may also have origins from the other languages or even a combination of two or more elements from these languages:
As Muslims, Malays have long favoured Arabic names as marks of their religion. However, Malay names of Arab
-Hebrew origins are also common, for example, Adam
, Yaacob, Ishak, Bunyamin and Daniel
(all of which are common names for Malay males) and Sarah
(common name for Malay females). Also, names of Arab-Hebrew origins that are seldom used by the Muslim Arabs are also widespread, such as the female names of Meriam
or Miriam (the Arabs commonly transliterate it to Maryam), Saloma and Rohana
.
It is not uncommon for a Malay to have more than one personal names.
in Western cultures. In general practice, however, most Malays omit the word bin or bint from their names in non-official or non-formal situations. Thus, the two examples from the paragraph above would be known as Musa Osman and Aisyah Musa. When presented in this way, the second part of the name is often mistaken for a family name
.
However, when someone is referred to using only one name, the first name is always used, never the second (because one would be calling someone by the father's name). Thus, Musa Osman is Mr Musa (or Encik Musa in Malay), and Aisyah Musa is Mrs/Ms/Miss Aisyah (or Puan/Cik Aisyah in Malay). An exception is the case of second personal names when a male has the first name as the prophet name Mohammed or the word Abdul. Hence, the second name is usually used if the third name is the patronym. For example, Mohammed Hisyam bin Ariffin would be referred by the name Mr Hisyam or Abdul Rahman bin Rasyid would be referred to as Mr Rahman.
However, it is argued that the Mr or Mrs form of address is not compatible with the Malay naming system, probably due to the lack of family or surnames. As such, it is customary to address Malays using the Malay forms of address.
and Ahmad for men, and Nur and Siti for women. Bearers of these names, and their variants, often add a more distinctive second name, like Mohammed Osman or Nor Mawar. The patronym is then added after these.
The popular first elements in double Malay male names are:
The most common first elements in double Malay female names are:
A special case of double names for men is the use of Abdul. Following Arabic naming practices, Abdul simply means 'servant of' and must be followed by one of the names of God in the Qur'an; for example Abdul Haqq means 'servant of the Truth'.
Thus, Osman may have another son called Abdul Haqq, who is known as Abdul Haqq bin Osman, or Abdul Haqq Osman. Then he, in turn, may have a daughter called Nor Mawar, who is known as Nor Mawar binti Abdul Haqq, or Nor Mawar Abdul Haqq. It is often common to drop the first element in these double names, even if it is Abdul, and so the examples could be known as Haqq Osman and Mawar Haqq.
and sometimes matrilineally, are used and often incorporated into the naming system as the first part of double names. Most of those with these titles are descended from royalty or nobility.
The examples of inherited titles are:
by Patrilineal Royal descent (Malay)
by Patrilineal Royal descent (Malay - Mon-Khmer)
by Patrilineal Royal descent (Acheh - Malay)
by Matrilineal Royal descent (Malay)
by Patrilineal and/or Matrilineal, Royal and/or Noble descent
by Patrilineal Noble descent
All hereditary titles are controlled and regulated as well as registered by the Malaysian National Registration Department and must appear in the National Registration Identity Cards (NRIC), passports as well as all official documents. A person may not in any circumstances be denied or stripped of his or her hereditary titles and persons with no evidence of inheritance are not allowed to carry these titles in accordance to local customs as well as the national registration naming regulations.
These titles are usually awarded by the Sultan
s of the recipients' respective states as well as the Yang Dipertuan Agong and the state Yang Dipertua as recognition for their contributions and services to the nation and the respective states. For example, the title 'Datuk' is given to Malaysians of all races as an honorary title. An example is Datuk Lee Chong Wei
, a famous badminton player who was awarded the title as recognition to his achievement in becoming the first ever Malaysian to win a silver Olympic medal 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics
. If the recipient is a man, his wife is automatically bestowed with the title 'Datin' but not in reverse.
The title 'Tun' is reserved for nationally important persons, like the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia
Tun Mahathir bin Mohamad
. He was given the title after his resignation at 2003.
For example of a complex name, the current Prime Minister of Malaysia
has the full name Dato' Seri Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak
, where 'Dato' Seri' is a Malay title of honour, 'Mohd Najib' is his personal name (often further abbreviated to 'Najib'), 'bin' introduces his father's titles and names, 'Tun' is a higher honour, 'Haji' denotes his father as a pilgrim to Mecca
, and 'Abdul Razak' is his father's personal name (often abbreviated to 'Razak'). The entire name has various shorter forms, like 'Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak', 'Najib Tun Razak' and 'Najib Razak').
, the pilgrimage
to Mecca
, they may be called Haji
or Hajjah for women. Thus, if Musa bin Osman went on the Hajj, he could be called Haji Musa bin Osman, and his daughter Aisyah might be called Aisyah binti Haji Musa. If Aisyah herself have gone for the hajj, her name would be Hajjah Aisyah binti Haji Musa. The titles can also be shortened in writing to 'Hj.'.
s are used among Malaysian Chinese
. These names are usually represented as three words, for example Foo Li Leen or Tan Ai Lin. The first name is the Chinese family name, which is passed down from a father to all his children. The two other parts of the name form an indivisible Chinese given name
, which may contain a generation name
. In Western settings, the family name is sometimes shifted to the end of the name (for example, Li Leen Foo).
Some Chinese also take a Western personal name (for example, Denise Foo), and some use this in preference to a Chinese given name and most of these are used by Chinese Malaysian Christians. On official documents, this name is either written in the order Western name - Surname - Chinese given name (e.g. Denise Foo Li Leen), or Surname - Chinese name - Western name (e.g. Foo Li Leen Denise), or Western name - Chinese name - Surname (e.g. Denise Li Leen Foo). In general practice, only either the Western name or the Chinese name will be used. For the Chinese Malaysian Muslims, they even use Arabic given names while some use Arabic-derived Chinese names.
As no formal system of romanisation is imposed on Chinese names in Malaysia at the time of birth registration, names are often romanised according to the judgement of the registration clerk or according to the preference of the proposer. Hence, romanisation errors are not uncommon resulting in unusual names. Since the 80's, Pinyin names are becoming more common, although one would not say popular. Bearing in mind that Pinyin form is based on Mandarin or Putonghua, most existing romanised surnames are based on dialects. For example, a Tan (Fujian dialect) is Chen in Pinyin form. For a Foozhou, the existing romanised form is Ding. As parents prefer their offsprings to have the same romanised surname as the father, names such as Tan Jia Ling where Tan is in Hokkien and Jia Ling in Mandarin are becoming common.
, Malayalam, Telugu
or Sanskrit
names. A man's name would consist of his personal name followed by the Malay phrase anak lelaki, meaning 'son of', and then his father's name. A woman's name would consist of her personal name followed by the Malay phrase anak perempuan, meaning 'daughter of', and then her father's name. The Malay patronymic phrase is often abbreviated to a/l ('son of') or a/p ('daughter of') and then their father's name. In many circumstances, the intervening Malay is omitted, and the father's name follows immediately after a person's given name. Following traditional practice from South India, the father's name is sometimes abbreviated to an initial and placed before the personal name. Thus, a man called Anbuselvan whose father is called Ramanan may be called Anbuselvan anak lelaki Ramanan (formal), Anbuselvan a/l Ramanan (as on his government identification card), Anbuselvan Ramanan or R. Anbuselvan. Whereas, his daughter Mathuram would be called Mathuram anak perempuan Anbuselvan (formal), Mathuram a/p Anbuselvan (as on her government identification card), Mathuram Anbuselvan or A. Mathuram. Although not recorded officially, an Indian woman may use her husband's personal name instead of her father's name after marriage.
For the Indian Malaysian Muslims, like ethnic Malays, they use Arabic names or names of their own languages, while Arabic-derived Christian names for the Indian Malaysian Christians
Orang Asli
and Sarawak
ian Bumiputra
use the Malay word anak ('child of') to form their patronymics regardless of an individual's sex, for example, Aziz anak Ramlan. However, most of the new generation indigenous people in Sabah and Sarawak in town areas and whom practice Christianity as a religion, tend to have a Christian first name, for example Melissa Melanie Raweng (Raweng being the father's name).
Some Sabah
Bumiputra have patronymics in the same fashion as Malays, using bin or binti, while others have patrilineal surnames which are handed down unchanged from generation to generation.
Kristang people
usually have Portuguese, or, at least, more European-sounding names, including inherited family name
s. In fact, Arabs and Portuguese have common denominator in influence in names: Fatima, Omar, and Soraya. These names are common in Portugal given by Arab influence.
Personal name
A personal name is the proper name identifying an individual person, and today usually comprises a given name bestowed at birth or at a young age plus a surname. It is nearly universal for a human to have a name; except in rare cases, for example feral children growing up in isolation, or infants...
s are to a certain degree, regulated by the national registration department, especially since the introduction of the National Registration Identity Card. The Malaysian Chinese
Malaysian Chinese
Malaysian Chinese is a Malaysian of Chinese origin. Most are descendants of Chinese who arrived between the fifteenth and the mid-twentieth centuries. Within Malaysia, they are usually simply referred to as "Chinese" in all languages. The term Chinese Malaysian is also sometimes used to refer to...
are the only major ethnic group in Malaysia to use family name
Family name
A family name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world...
s. Most other groups, including the ethnic Malays, Orang Asli
Orang Asli
Orang Asli , is a generic Malaysian term used for people indigenous to Peninsular Malaysia...
and the Bumiputera
Bumiputera
The Bumiputera is derived from the Sanskrit word 'Bhumiputra', which roughly translated means 'sons of the soil'. In both Malaysia and Brunei, the term is used to refer to a member of majority Malay ethnic group...
of Sabah and Sarawak, share a naming custom that includes the use of a personal name followed by a patronym
Patronymic
A patronym, or patronymic, is a component of a personal name based on the name of one's father, grandfather or an even earlier male ancestor. A component of a name based on the name of one's mother or a female ancestor is a matronymic. Each is a means of conveying lineage.In many areas patronyms...
name.
Malay names
Malay names are often drawn from ArabicArabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
and follow some Arabic naming customs
Arabic name
Long ago, Arabic names were based on a long naming system; most Arabs did not simply have given/middle/family names, but a full chain of names. This system was in use throughout the Arab world. Today however, Arabic names are similar in structure to those of Modern and Western names...
. However, a significant portion of Malay names may also have origins from the other languages or even a combination of two or more elements from these languages:
- MalayMalay languageMalay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
, for example Kiambang, Orked and Mawar. - PersianPersian languagePersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, for example Jehan, Mirza and Shah. - JavaneseJavanese languageJavanese language is the language of the Javanese people from the central and eastern parts of the island of Java, in Indonesia. In addition, there are also some pockets of Javanese speakers in the northern coast of western Java...
, for example Ratnasari, Mustika and Kesuma. - SanskritSanskritSanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
or PaliPáli- External links :* *...
, for example Wira, Darma and Wati. - GreekGreek languageGreek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
or LatinLatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, for example Maria, Marina and Johana. - KhmerKhmer languageKhmer , or Cambodian, is the language of the Khmer people and the official language of Cambodia. It is the second most widely spoken Austroasiatic language , with speakers in the tens of millions. Khmer has been considerably influenced by Sanskrit and Pali, especially in the royal and religious...
, SiameseSiameseSiamese most commonly refer to:*The Thai language*The Thai people*Someone or something from Thailand: see Siam *Siamese *Siamese twinsAmongst animals:*Siamese Crocodile*Siamese mud carp...
or ChamCham languageCham is the language of the Cham people of Southeast Asia, and formerly the language of the kingdom of Champa in central Vietnam. A member of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian family, it is spoken by 100,000 people in Vietnam and up to 220,000 people in Cambodia . There are also...
, for example Tam, Som and Lai.
As Muslims, Malays have long favoured Arabic names as marks of their religion. However, Malay names of Arab
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
-Hebrew origins are also common, for example, Adam
Adam
Adam is a figure in the Book of Genesis. According to the creation myth of Abrahamic religions, he is the first human. In the Genesis creation narratives, he was created by Yahweh-Elohim , and the first woman, Eve was formed from his rib...
, Yaacob, Ishak, Bunyamin and Daniel
Daniel
Daniel is the protagonist in the Book of Daniel of the Hebrew Bible. In the narrative, when Daniel was a young man, he was taken into Babylonian captivity where he was educated in Chaldean thought. However, he never converted to Neo-Babylonian ways...
(all of which are common names for Malay males) and Sarah
Sarah
Sarah or Sara was the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac as described in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran. Her name was originally Sarai...
(common name for Malay females). Also, names of Arab-Hebrew origins that are seldom used by the Muslim Arabs are also widespread, such as the female names of Meriam
Meriam
Meriam may refer to:* Someone or something related to Murray Island, Queensland, also called Mer** Meriam people, the people of Mer** Meriam language, the language of the Meriam people...
or Miriam (the Arabs commonly transliterate it to Maryam), Saloma and Rohana
Rohana
Rohana is a genus of butterflies in the family Nymphalidae.-External links:* at funit.fi...
.
Structure
A Malay's name consists of a personal name, which is used to address him or her in all circumstances, followed by a patronym. Most Malays do not use family names or surnames. In this respect, Malay names are similar to Icelandic naming conventions. For men, the patronym consists of the word bin (from Arabic , meaning 'son of') followed by his father's personal name. Thus, if Osman has a son called Musa, Musa will be known as Musa bin Osman. For women, the patronym consists of the word binti (from Arabic , meaning 'daughter of') followed by her father's name. Thus, if Musa has a daughter called Aisyah, Aisyah will be known as Aisyah binti Musa. Upon marriage, a woman does not change her name, as is done in many cultures.It is not uncommon for a Malay to have more than one personal names.
Patronym
The patronym is employed by almost all Malays in accordance with local customs as well as adopted ones from the Arabs, Hebrews and others. Sometimes the first part of the patronym, bin or binti, is reduced to B. for men, or to Bt., Bte. or Bint. for women. This sometimes leads to it being taken as a middle initialMiddle name
People's names in several cultures include one or more additional names placed between the first given name and the surname. In Canada and the United States all such names are specifically referred to as middle name; in most European countries they would simply be regarded as second, third, etc....
in Western cultures. In general practice, however, most Malays omit the word bin or bint from their names in non-official or non-formal situations. Thus, the two examples from the paragraph above would be known as Musa Osman and Aisyah Musa. When presented in this way, the second part of the name is often mistaken for a family name
Family name
A family name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world...
.
However, when someone is referred to using only one name, the first name is always used, never the second (because one would be calling someone by the father's name). Thus, Musa Osman is Mr Musa (or Encik Musa in Malay), and Aisyah Musa is Mrs/Ms/Miss Aisyah (or Puan/Cik Aisyah in Malay). An exception is the case of second personal names when a male has the first name as the prophet name Mohammed or the word Abdul. Hence, the second name is usually used if the third name is the patronym. For example, Mohammed Hisyam bin Ariffin would be referred by the name Mr Hisyam or Abdul Rahman bin Rasyid would be referred to as Mr Rahman.
However, it is argued that the Mr or Mrs form of address is not compatible with the Malay naming system, probably due to the lack of family or surnames. As such, it is customary to address Malays using the Malay forms of address.
Surnames
A few Malay families do use surnames, such as Merican, which are passed down patrilineally, and usually indicate an Indian Muslim ancestry (Merican is Indian Muslim in origin). Hence, if Musa's full name is Musa Merican, his daughter would be Aisyah Merican or Aisyah Musa Merican.Second personal names or double names
Another feature in Malay names, which is very common, is the existence of second personal names or double names. This seems to have been developed in response to the use of very popular Muslim names, like MuhammadMuhammad (name)
Muhammad was a prophet and an Arabic religious and political leader who preached and established Islam.Muhammad may also refer to:*Muhammad , listing people with the given name or surname Muhammad...
and Ahmad for men, and Nur and Siti for women. Bearers of these names, and their variants, often add a more distinctive second name, like Mohammed Osman or Nor Mawar. The patronym is then added after these.
The popular first elements in double Malay male names are:
- MuhammadMuhammad (name)Muhammad was a prophet and an Arabic religious and political leader who preached and established Islam.Muhammad may also refer to:*Muhammad , listing people with the given name or surname Muhammad...
/Mohammad/Mohammed (often abbreviated to Mohd., Muhd., Md. or simply M.) - Mat — the Malay variant of Muhammad. Mat is also the casual spoken form of names ending with -mad or -mat such as Ahmad, Rahmat, Samad, etc.
- Mamat - another variety of Muhammad
- Ahmad
The most common first elements in double Malay female names are:
- Nor/Noor/Nur/Nurul
- Siti
A special case of double names for men is the use of Abdul. Following Arabic naming practices, Abdul simply means 'servant of' and must be followed by one of the names of God in the Qur'an; for example Abdul Haqq means 'servant of the Truth'.
Thus, Osman may have another son called Abdul Haqq, who is known as Abdul Haqq bin Osman, or Abdul Haqq Osman. Then he, in turn, may have a daughter called Nor Mawar, who is known as Nor Mawar binti Abdul Haqq, or Nor Mawar Abdul Haqq. It is often common to drop the first element in these double names, even if it is Abdul, and so the examples could be known as Haqq Osman and Mawar Haqq.
Hereditary titles
In different parts of Malaysia, traditionally inherited (patrilineally) Malay titlesMalay titles
The Malay language has a complex system of titles and honorifics, which are still used extensively in Malaysia and Brunei. Singapore, whose Malay royalty was abolished by the British colonial government in 1891, has adopted civic titles for its leaders....
and sometimes matrilineally, are used and often incorporated into the naming system as the first part of double names. Most of those with these titles are descended from royalty or nobility.
The examples of inherited titles are:
by Patrilineal Royal descent (Malay)
- Tunku
- Tengku
- Raja
by Patrilineal Royal descent (Malay - Mon-Khmer)
- Yang
- Long
by Patrilineal Royal descent (Acheh - Malay)
- Teuku
by Matrilineal Royal descent (Malay)
- Engku
- Ungku
- Megat (male)
- Puteri (female)
by Patrilineal and/or Matrilineal, Royal and/or Noble descent
- SyedSyedSyed is a masculine given name derived from the title Sayyid, it is not to be confused with the similar looking name Sayid...
/Sharifah (for male and female, respectively) — indicating direct patrilineal descent from the family of the Prophet Muhammad. - Mior (for male only) — indicating direct matrilineal descent from the family of the Prophet Muhammad.
- Awang, Abang/Dayang (popular in SarawakSarawakSarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
, for male and female, respectively. - Tuan (used more generally as a respectful term of address for men, like 'sir')
- Awang, Abang/Dayang or Dayangku(used in SarawakSarawakSarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
, for male and female, respectively)
by Patrilineal Noble descent
- Wan
- Nik
- Che
All hereditary titles are controlled and regulated as well as registered by the Malaysian National Registration Department and must appear in the National Registration Identity Cards (NRIC), passports as well as all official documents. A person may not in any circumstances be denied or stripped of his or her hereditary titles and persons with no evidence of inheritance are not allowed to carry these titles in accordance to local customs as well as the national registration naming regulations.
Non-hereditary titles
The titles above should not be confused with those given by special award which are non-hereditary, like 'Datuk', 'Tan Sri' and 'Tun'.These titles are usually awarded by the Sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
s of the recipients' respective states as well as the Yang Dipertuan Agong and the state Yang Dipertua as recognition for their contributions and services to the nation and the respective states. For example, the title 'Datuk' is given to Malaysians of all races as an honorary title. An example is Datuk Lee Chong Wei
Lee Chong Wei
Datuk Lee Chong Wei is a professional badminton player from Malaysia who resides in Bukit Mertajam. Lee won the silver medal in the 2008 Olympic Games, thus becoming the first Malaysian to reach the final of the men's singles event and ending Malaysia's Olympic medal drought since the 1996 Games...
, a famous badminton player who was awarded the title as recognition to his achievement in becoming the first ever Malaysian to win a silver Olympic medal 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
. If the recipient is a man, his wife is automatically bestowed with the title 'Datin' but not in reverse.
The title 'Tun' is reserved for nationally important persons, like the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia
Prime Minister of Malaysia
The Prime Minister of Malaysia is the indirectly elected head of government of Malaysia. He is officially appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the head of state, who in HM's judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House of Representatives , the...
Tun Mahathir bin Mohamad
Mahathir bin Mohamad
Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad . is a Malaysian politician who was the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the post for 22 years from 1981 to 2003, making him Malaysia's longest serving Prime Minister. His political career spanned almost 40 years.Born and raised in Alor Setar, Kedah, Mahathir...
. He was given the title after his resignation at 2003.
For example of a complex name, the current Prime Minister of Malaysia
Prime Minister of Malaysia
The Prime Minister of Malaysia is the indirectly elected head of government of Malaysia. He is officially appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the head of state, who in HM's judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House of Representatives , the...
has the full name Dato' Seri Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak
Najib Tun Razak
Dato' Sri Haji Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak is the sixth, and since 2009, Prime Minister of Malaysia. He previously held the post of Deputy Prime Minister from 7 January 2004 until he succeeded Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Prime Minister on 3 April 2009. Najib is President of the United...
, where 'Dato' Seri' is a Malay title of honour, 'Mohd Najib' is his personal name (often further abbreviated to 'Najib'), 'bin' introduces his father's titles and names, 'Tun' is a higher honour, 'Haji' denotes his father as a pilgrim to Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, and 'Abdul Razak' is his father's personal name (often abbreviated to 'Razak'). The entire name has various shorter forms, like 'Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak', 'Najib Tun Razak' and 'Najib Razak').
Haji or Hajjah
If someone has been on the HajjHajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
, the pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
to Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, they may be called Haji
Hajji
Hajji or El-Hajj, is an honorific title given to a Muslim person who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca, and is often used to refer to an elder, since it can take time to accumulate the wealth to fund the travel. The title is placed before a person's name...
or Hajjah for women. Thus, if Musa bin Osman went on the Hajj, he could be called Haji Musa bin Osman, and his daughter Aisyah might be called Aisyah binti Haji Musa. If Aisyah herself have gone for the hajj, her name would be Hajjah Aisyah binti Haji Musa. The titles can also be shortened in writing to 'Hj.'.
Chinese names
Traditional Chinese nameChinese name
Personal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. Most noticeably, a Chinese name is written with the family name first and the given name next, therefore "John-Paul Smith" as a Chinese name would be "Smith John-Paul"...
s are used among Malaysian Chinese
Malaysian Chinese
Malaysian Chinese is a Malaysian of Chinese origin. Most are descendants of Chinese who arrived between the fifteenth and the mid-twentieth centuries. Within Malaysia, they are usually simply referred to as "Chinese" in all languages. The term Chinese Malaysian is also sometimes used to refer to...
. These names are usually represented as three words, for example Foo Li Leen or Tan Ai Lin. The first name is the Chinese family name, which is passed down from a father to all his children. The two other parts of the name form an indivisible Chinese given name
Chinese given name
Chinese given names are generally made up of one or two characters, and are written after the family name, therefore "John-Paul Smith" as a Chinese name would be read "Smith John-Paul". Chinese names can consist of any character and contain almost any meaning...
, which may contain a generation name
Generation name
Generation name, variously zibei or banci, is one of the characters in a traditional Chinese name, and is so called because each member of a generation share that character, unlike surnames or given names...
. In Western settings, the family name is sometimes shifted to the end of the name (for example, Li Leen Foo).
Some Chinese also take a Western personal name (for example, Denise Foo), and some use this in preference to a Chinese given name and most of these are used by Chinese Malaysian Christians. On official documents, this name is either written in the order Western name - Surname - Chinese given name (e.g. Denise Foo Li Leen), or Surname - Chinese name - Western name (e.g. Foo Li Leen Denise), or Western name - Chinese name - Surname (e.g. Denise Li Leen Foo). In general practice, only either the Western name or the Chinese name will be used. For the Chinese Malaysian Muslims, they even use Arabic given names while some use Arabic-derived Chinese names.
As no formal system of romanisation is imposed on Chinese names in Malaysia at the time of birth registration, names are often romanised according to the judgement of the registration clerk or according to the preference of the proposer. Hence, romanisation errors are not uncommon resulting in unusual names. Since the 80's, Pinyin names are becoming more common, although one would not say popular. Bearing in mind that Pinyin form is based on Mandarin or Putonghua, most existing romanised surnames are based on dialects. For example, a Tan (Fujian dialect) is Chen in Pinyin form. For a Foozhou, the existing romanised form is Ding. As parents prefer their offsprings to have the same romanised surname as the father, names such as Tan Jia Ling where Tan is in Hokkien and Jia Ling in Mandarin are becoming common.
Indian names
Officially, Malaysian Indians use a patronymic naming system combining their traditional Indian names with some Malay words, while others use TamilTamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
, Malayalam, Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
or Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
names. A man's name would consist of his personal name followed by the Malay phrase anak lelaki, meaning 'son of', and then his father's name. A woman's name would consist of her personal name followed by the Malay phrase anak perempuan, meaning 'daughter of', and then her father's name. The Malay patronymic phrase is often abbreviated to a/l ('son of') or a/p ('daughter of') and then their father's name. In many circumstances, the intervening Malay is omitted, and the father's name follows immediately after a person's given name. Following traditional practice from South India, the father's name is sometimes abbreviated to an initial and placed before the personal name. Thus, a man called Anbuselvan whose father is called Ramanan may be called Anbuselvan anak lelaki Ramanan (formal), Anbuselvan a/l Ramanan (as on his government identification card), Anbuselvan Ramanan or R. Anbuselvan. Whereas, his daughter Mathuram would be called Mathuram anak perempuan Anbuselvan (formal), Mathuram a/p Anbuselvan (as on her government identification card), Mathuram Anbuselvan or A. Mathuram. Although not recorded officially, an Indian woman may use her husband's personal name instead of her father's name after marriage.
For the Indian Malaysian Muslims, like ethnic Malays, they use Arabic names or names of their own languages, while Arabic-derived Christian names for the Indian Malaysian Christians
Indonesian names
Although Indonesian (especially Javanese) immigrants in Malaysia may carry Indonesian names such as Sukanto, their Malaysian-born children tend to have Arabic names.Names of members of other groups
PeninsularMalay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
Orang Asli
Orang Asli
Orang Asli , is a generic Malaysian term used for people indigenous to Peninsular Malaysia...
and Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
ian Bumiputra
Bumiputra
Bumiputera or Bumiputra is a Malay term widely used in Malaysia, embracing indigenous people of the Malay Archipelago. The term comes from the Sanskrit word bhumiputra, which can be translated literally as "son of land"...
use the Malay word anak ('child of') to form their patronymics regardless of an individual's sex, for example, Aziz anak Ramlan. However, most of the new generation indigenous people in Sabah and Sarawak in town areas and whom practice Christianity as a religion, tend to have a Christian first name, for example Melissa Melanie Raweng (Raweng being the father's name).
Some Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
Bumiputra have patronymics in the same fashion as Malays, using bin or binti, while others have patrilineal surnames which are handed down unchanged from generation to generation.
Kristang people
Kristang people
The Kristang are a creole ethnic group of people of mixed Portuguese and Malaccan descent based in Malaysia and Singapore. People of this ethnicity have strong Dutch heritage, some British as well as Chinese and Indian heritage due to intermarriage, which was common among the Kristang...
usually have Portuguese, or, at least, more European-sounding names, including inherited family name
Family name
A family name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world...
s. In fact, Arabs and Portuguese have common denominator in influence in names: Fatima, Omar, and Soraya. These names are common in Portugal given by Arab influence.
See also
- Arabic nameArabic nameLong ago, Arabic names were based on a long naming system; most Arabs did not simply have given/middle/family names, but a full chain of names. This system was in use throughout the Arab world. Today however, Arabic names are similar in structure to those of Modern and Western names...
- Malay titlesMalay titlesThe Malay language has a complex system of titles and honorifics, which are still used extensively in Malaysia and Brunei. Singapore, whose Malay royalty was abolished by the British colonial government in 1891, has adopted civic titles for its leaders....
- Pakistani namePakistani nameIn Pakistan, as in other Muslim countries, the use of family names is not as prominent as in Western countries. The majority of Pakistani names are derived from Arabic, Turkish, Pashto, Persian and Urdu origin. As most Pakistanis are Muslims, all of them use either Urdu, Arabic, Afghan, Persian or...
- Personal namePersonal nameA personal name is the proper name identifying an individual person, and today usually comprises a given name bestowed at birth or at a young age plus a surname. It is nearly universal for a human to have a name; except in rare cases, for example feral children growing up in isolation, or infants...
- Chinese nameChinese namePersonal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. Most noticeably, a Chinese name is written with the family name first and the given name next, therefore "John-Paul Smith" as a Chinese name would be "Smith John-Paul"...
- Indian name
- Portuguese name