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Indonesian Last Names

Common Indonesian surnames with their meanings, origins and type — patronymic, occupational, toponymic or descriptive.

Not everyone has one

Indonesian naming is remarkably varied, and many Indonesians have no surname at all — a single name is common, especially among the Javanese (the country’s largest group), where figures like Sukarno and Suharto went by one name.

Clans, Sanskrit and Arabic

Where family names exist, they come from several traditions: the Batak of Sumatra carry inherited marga (clan names) like Nasution, Siregar and Simanjuntak; many names derive from Sanskrit (Wijaya, “victory”; Kusuma, “flower”; Pratama, “first”); and, as the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, Indonesia also uses many Arabic names. Balinese names, meanwhile, often mark birth order (Wayan, Made, Nyoman, Ketut).

Frequently asked questions

Do Indonesians have surnames?

Not always u2014 many, especially Javanese, use a single name with no family surname. Where surnames exist, they include Batak clan names, Sanskrit-derived names and Arabic names.

What is a Batak marga?

A marga is an inherited clan name among the Batak people of Sumatra u2014 such as Nasution, Siregar or Simanjuntak u2014 passed down and central to identity.

What do Indonesian names often mean?

Many derive from Sanskrit u2014 Wijaya (u201cvictoryu201d), Kusuma (u201cfloweru201d), Pratama (u201cfirstu201d) u2014 reflecting the regionu2019s long Hindu-Buddhist heritage.

All last names A–Z