In Indonesia, and more particularly on the island of Java, 145 million inhabitants, until now you could choose any family name for your children. Even one that had nothing to do with his.
International mail explains for example that a baby born by caesarean could very well be called “Operation” by his parents. Or “Muhammad Wishnu” to pay homage to the second god of the Hindu trinity. A known example in France, that of the singer Anggun. His full name is Anggun Cipta Sasmi. In Javanese it means “grace that was created in a dream”.
Indonesians, who used to have complete freedom in naming their children, now have these rules:
at least two words
no negative connotation
60 characters maximum
An intrusion into privacy, judge “Kompas”.
⬇️https://t.co/dhvlBFMmrN— Courrier inter (@courrierinter) May 24, 2022
Moreover, the name is not always given at birth, sometimes the parents wait three months to find the surname that will stick best. On this Indonesian blog we discover that a boy was named Apple, because of his chubby physique when he was a baby.
Then it was possible to choose a name, just one, like Soekarno or Soeharto, the first two presidents of the country after independence. But also three or five or six or even more. There were no limits. Conversely in Indonesia the first names are very limited: there are only four, which are attributed according to the order of births in the family.
Those fantasies now are over! Since April 21, young parents in the archipelago must respect three rules. The surname they choose must:
1- be easy to readnot have a negative, ambiguous or insulting connotation
2- include at least two words.
3- do not exceedr 60 characters, spaces included.
If these rules set by the decree of the Ministry of the Interior are not respected, it is simple, the civil status offices do not issue birth certificates, family booklets or any other document of identify.
This new regulation aims to make the allocation of names a little more rational but also to facilitate the task of the services of the town halls which sometimes had a little trouble getting everyone into the boxes. Except that this decision does not go over very well with the population. Indonesians don’t see the advantage of restricting themselves to 60 characters at all. What they see instead is that the state is far too intrusive. This week the daily Compas asked the vice-head of the political science department at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta. “From a political point of view, she says, this measure reflects the frequency with which the state increasingly regulates our private sphere.” she says.
In France we are less inventive. The child can only have the name of his father, or that of his mother, or both. The longest surname recorded to date is:
Pourroy de l’Auberivière de Quinsonas-Oudinot de Reggio, 54 signs or spaces. We remain far from Indonesian records.