| Abdul |
Arabic |
First part of compound Arabic names beginning with عبد ال (‘Abd al) meaning “servant of the” (such as عبد العزيز (‘Abd al-‘Aziz) meaning “servant of the powerful”). |
| Abdullah |
Arabic |
Alternate transcription of Arabic عبد الله (see ABD ALLAH), as well as the regular Turkish, Malay and Indonesian form. |
| Adi |
Indonesian |
Means “first” in Indonesian, ultimately from Sanskrit आदि (adi). |
| Aditya |
Hinduism, Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Nepali, Indonesian |
Means “belonging to ADITI” in Sanskrit. This is a name for the seven (or eight) Hindu gods who are the children of Aditi. It is also another name for the sun god Surya. |
| Agung |
Indonesian |
Means “great, large” in Indonesian. |
| Agus |
Indonesian |
Variant of BAGUS. |
| Ahmad |
Arabic |
Means “most commendable, most praiseworthy” in Arabic (a superlative form of HAMID). |
| Akbar |
Arabic |
Means “greater, greatest” in Arabic. This was the name of a 16th-century Mughal ruler who expanded the empire to include most of India. |
| Ali |
Arabic |
Means “lofty, sublime” in Arabic. Ali ibn Abi Talib was a cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad and the fourth caliph to rule the Muslim world. His followers were the original Shia Muslims, who regard him as the first rightful caliph…. |
| Amir |
Arabic |
Means “commander, prince” in Arabic. This was originally a title, which has come into English as the Arabic loanword emir. |
| Anwar |
Arabic |
Means “brighter, more luminous” in Arabic. This name was borne by Egyptian president Anwar Sadat (1918-1981), who was assassinated three years after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. |
| Arif |
Arabic |
Means “learned, knowing, expert” in Arabic. |
| Bachtiar |
Indonesian |
Indonesian form of BAKHTIAR. |
| Bagus |
Indonesian |
Means “handsome, excellent” in Indonesian. |
| Bambang |
Indonesian, Javanese |
Means “knight” in Javanese. |
| Bima |
Indonesian |
Indonesian form of BHIMA. |
| Buana |
Indonesian |
Means “the world” in Indonesian, ultimately from Sanskrit भुवन (bhuvana). |
| Budi |
Indonesian |
Means “reason, mind, character” in Indonesian, ultimately from Sanskrit बुद्धि (buddhi) meaning “intellect” (related to BUDDHA). |
| Cahaya |
Indonesian, Malay |
Means “light” in Malay and Indonesian. |
| Cahya |
Indonesian |
Variant of CAHAYA. |
| Cahyo |
Indonesian, Javanese |
Javanese form of CAHAYA. |
| Darma |
Indonesian |
Means “good deed” or “duty” in Indonesian, ultimately from Sanskrit धर्म (dharma). |
| Daud |
Indonesian, Arabic |
Indonesian form of DAVID, and also an alternate transcription of Arabic داود or داوود (see DAWUD). |
| Dian |
Indonesian |
Means “candle” in Indonesian. |
| Dwi |
Indonesian |
Means “two, second” in Indonesian, ultimately from Sanskrit द्वि (dvi). |
| Eka |
Indonesian |
Means “one, first” in Indonesian, ultimately from Sanskrit एक (eka). |
| Eko |
Indonesian, Javanese |
Javanese form of EKA (1). |
| Faisal |
Arabic |
Alternate transcription of Arabic فيصل (see FAYSAL), as well as the usual Urdu, Bengali, Malay and Indonesian form. |
| Firdaus |
Arabic |
Derived from the Arabic word فردوس (firdaws) meaning “paradise”, ultimately from Avestan pairidaeza meaning “garden, enclosure”. |
| Guntur |
Indonesian |
Means “thunder” in Indonesian. |
| Gusti |
Indonesian, Balinese |
From a title meaning “leader” in Balinese. |
| Harta |
Indonesian |
Means “wealth, treasure, property” in Indonesian, ultimately from Sanskrit अर्थ (artha). |
| Hasan |
Arabic |
Means “handsome” in Arabic, from the root حَسُنَ (hasuna) meaning “to be beautiful, to be good”. Hasan was the son of Ali and the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. He was poisoned by one of his wives and is regarded as a martyr by Shia Muslims. This was also the name of two kings of Morocco. It is sometimes transcribed as Hassan, though this is a distinct name in Arabic. |
| Hidayat |
Arabic, Indonesian |
Means “guidance” in Arabic. |
| Ibrahim |
Arabic |
Form of ABRAHAM in several languages. |
| Ilham |
Arabic, Indonesian, Uyghur |
Means “inspiration” in Arabic. |
| Iman |
Arabic, Persian, Indonesian |
Means “faith”, derived from Arabic أمُنَ (amuna) meaning “to be faithful”. It is typically feminine in Arabic and typically masculine in Persian. |
| Imran |
Arabic |
Arabic form of AMRAM. This is the name Muslims traditionally assign to the father of the Virgin Mary (analogous to the Christian Joachim). |
| Iskandar |
Arabic |
Arabic, Indonesian and Malay form of ALEXANDER. |
| Ismail |
Arabic |
Malay, Indonesian, Uyghur and Albanian form of ISHMAEL. It is also an alternate transcription of Arabic إسماعيل (see ISMA’IL). |
| Jusuf |
Bosnian, Indonesian |
Bosnian and Indonesian form of YUSUF. |
| Kadek |
Indonesian, Balinese |
Possibly from Balinese adik meaning “younger sibling”. This name is traditionally given to the second-born child. |
| Ketut |
Indonesian, Balinese |
Possibly from a Balinese word meaning “small banana”. This name is traditionally given to the fourth child. |
| Komang |
Indonesian, Balinese |
Meaning unknown. This name is traditionally given to the third-born child in Balinese families. |
| Krisna |
Indonesian |
Indonesian form of KRISHNA. |
| Kusuma |
Indonesian |
Derived from Sanskrit कुसुम (kusuma) meaning “flower”. |
| Kuwat |
Indonesian, Javanese |
Means “strong” in Javanese. |
| Lutfi |
Arabic |
Means “kind, gentle” in Arabic. |
| Made |
Indonesian, Balinese |
From Sanskrit मध्य (madhya) meaning “middle”. This name is traditionally given to the family’s second-born child. |
| Mahmud |
Arabic |
Means “praised” in Arabic, from the same root as Muhammad. This was the name of the first Muslim ruler of India (11th century). It was also borne by two Ottoman sultans. |
| Mansur |
Arabic |
Means “victorious” in Arabic. Abu Jafar al-Mansur was an 8th-century Abbasid caliph and the founder of the city of Baghdad. |
| Mega |
Indonesian |
Means “cloud” in Indonesian, ultimately from Sanskrit मेघ (megha). |
| Muhamad |
Indonesian |
Indonesian, Malay and Avar variant of MUHAMMAD. |
| Muhammad |
Arabic |
Means “praised, commendable” in Arabic, derived from the root حَمِدَ (hamida) meaning “to praise”. This was the name of the prophet who founded the Islamic religion in the 7th century. According to Islamic belief, at age 40 Muhammad was visited by the angel Gabriel, who provided him with the first verses of the Quran. Approximately 20 years later he conquered Mecca, the city of his birth, and his followers controlled most of the Arabian Peninsula at the time of his death in 632… |
| Nur |
Arabic |
Means “light” in Arabic. In Islamic tradition النور (al-Nur) is one of the 99 names of Allah. |
| Nurul |
Arabic |
First part of compound Arabic names beginning with نور ال (Nur al) meaning “light of the” (such as نور الدين (Nur al-Din) meaning “light of religion”). |
| Nyoman |
Indonesian, Balinese |
Possibly from a Balinese word meaning “end, remainder”. This name is traditionally bestowed upon the third-born child. |
| Purnama |
Indonesian |
Means “full moon” in Indonesian, ultimately from Sanskrit पूर्णिमा (purnima). |
| Putra |
Indonesian |
Means “son” in Indonesian, ultimately from Sanskrit पुत्र (putra). |
| Putu |
Indonesian, Balinese |
Means “grandchild” in Balinese. Traditionally, this name is given to the first-born child. |
| Raharjo |
Indonesian, Javanese |
Means “plentiful, abundant” in Javanese. |
| Rahman |
Arabic |
Means “merciful” in Arabic. In Islamic tradition الرحمٰن (al-Rahman) is one of the 99 names of Allah. |
| Raja |
Indonesian |
Means “king, ruler”, from Sanskrit राजन् (rajan). |
| Ratna |
Indonesian |
Derived from Sanskrit रत्न (ratna) meaning “jewel, treasure”. This is a transcription of both the feminine form रत्ना and the masculine form रत्न. |
| Ridwan |
Arabic |
Means “satisfaction” in Arabic. |
| Ruslan |
Russian |
Form of YERUSLAN used by Aleksandr Pushkin in his poem Ruslan and Ludmila (1820), which was loosely based on Russian and Tatar folktales of Yeruslan Lazarevich. |
| Rustam |
Kazakh, Uzbek, Tajik, Indonesian |
Form of ROSTAM in various languages. |
| Setiawan |
Indonesian |
From Indonesian setia meaning “loyal, true”, ultimately from Sanskrit सत्य (satya), combined with the masculine suffix -wan. |
| Slamet |
Indonesian, Javanese |
Means “safety” in Javanese, ultimately from Arabic سلامات (salamat). |
| Sri |
Indian, Telugu, Tamil, Indonesian |
Indonesian and southern Indian form of SHRI. |
| Suharto |
Indonesian, Javanese |
From Sanskrit सु (su) meaning “good” and अर्थ (artha) meaning “wealth, property” (borrowed into Indonesian as harta). This was the name of an Indonesian general (1921-2008) who seized power to become the country’s second president. |
| Sukarno |
Indonesian, Javanese |
From the Sanskrit prefix सु (su) meaning “good” combined with the name of the mythological hero KARNA. Sukarno (1901-1970), who did not have a surname, was the first president of Indonesia. |
| Sulaiman |
Arabic |
Alternate transcription of Arabic سليمان (see SULAYMAN), as well as the usual Indonesian and Malay form. |
| Surya |
Indonesian |
Means “sun” in Sanskrit. This is the name of the Hindu god of the sun. |
| Susila |
Indonesian |
Indonesian form of SUSHILA. |
| Susilo |
Indonesian, Javanese |
Javanese form of SUSHILA. |
| Taufik |
Indonesian |
Indonesian form of TAWFIQ. |
| Tirta |
Indonesian |
Means “sacred water, place of pilgrimage” in Indonesian, ultimately from Sanskrit तीर्थ (tirtha). |
| Tirto |
Indonesian |
Javanese form of TIRTA. |
| Tri |
Indonesian |
Means “three, third” in Indonesian, ultimately from Sanskrit त्रि (tri). |
| Wahyu |
Indonesian |
Means “revelation” in Indonesian. |
| Wayan |
Indonesian, Balinese |
From Balinese wayah meaning “old, mature”, ultimately from Sanskrit वयस् (vayas) meaning “energy, strength, age”. This name is traditionally given to the first-born child. |
| Wibawa |
Indonesian |
Means “authority, power” in Indonesian, ultimately from Sanskrit विभव (vibhava). |
| Wibowo |
Indonesian, Javanese |
Javanese form of WIBAWA. |
| Wira |
Indonesian, Malay |
Means “hero” in Indonesian and Malay, ultimately from Sanskrit वीर (vira). |
| Yohanes |
Indonesian |
Indonesian form of JOHN. |
| Yuda |
Indonesian |
Means “war” in Indonesian, ultimately from Sanskrit युद्ध (yuddha). |
| Yusuf |
Arabic |
Arabic, Turkish and Indonesian form of Yosef (see JOSEPH). |
