Malay Names

Malay names are used in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, and Thailand.
gender
usage
Abdul m Arabic, Urdu, Punjabi, Pashto, Uzbek, Bengali, Indonesian, Malay
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 m Arabic, Turkish, Urdu, Bengali, Malay, Indonesian
Alternate transcription of Arabic عبد الله (see Abd Allah), as well as the regular form in several other languages.
Abdul Rahman m Arabic, Malay
Alternate transcription of Arabic عبد الرحمٰن (see Abd ar-Rahman), as well as the regular Malay form.
Ahmad m Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Bengali, Pashto, Indonesian, Malay, Avar, Uzbek
Means "most commendable, most praiseworthy" in Arabic (a superlative form of Hamid 1).
Aishah f Arabic, Malay
Alternate transcription of Arabic عائشة (see Aisha), as well as the usual Malay form.
Akmal m Arabic, Urdu, Uzbek, Tajik, Malay
Means "more perfect, more complete" in Arabic, a comparative form of كامل (kamil).
Ali 1 m Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Pashto, Indonesian, Malay, Avar, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Tajik, Dhivehi, Albanian, Bosnian
Means "lofty, sublime" in Arabic, from the root علا ('ala) meaning "to be high". 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.... [more]
Alya 1 f Arabic, Indonesian, Malay, Turkish
Means "sky, heaven, loftiness" in Arabic.
Aminah 1 f Arabic, Malay, Indonesian
Derived from Arabic أمن (amina) meaning "feel safe". This was the name of the Prophet Muhammad's mother, who died when he was young.
Amir 1 m Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Kazakh, Tatar, Bashkir, Malay, Indonesian, Bosnian
Means "commander, prince" in Arabic. This was originally a title, which has come into English as the Arabic loanword emir.
Azhar m Arabic, Urdu, Malay
Means "shining, brilliant, bright" in Arabic, derived from the root زهر (zahara) meaning "to shine".
Burhanuddin m Arabic, Indonesian, Malay, Dari Persian
Alternate transcription of Arabic برهان الدين (see Burhan ad-Din), as well as the Indonesian, Malay and Dari Persian form.
Cahaya m & f Indonesian, Malay
Means "light" in Malay and Indonesian.
Danial m Persian, Arabic, Malay, Indonesian
Alternate transcription of Persian دانیال or Arabic دانيال (see Daniyal), as well as the usual Malay and Indonesian form.
Faisal m Arabic, Urdu, Bengali, Malay, Indonesian
Alternate transcription of Arabic فيصل (see Faysal), as well as the usual Urdu, Bengali, Malay and Indonesian form.
Farah f & m Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Malay
Means "joy, happiness" in Arabic.
Fatimah f Arabic, Malay, Indonesian
Means "to abstain" in Arabic. Fatimah was a daughter of the Prophet Muhammad and the wife of Ali, the fourth caliph. She is regarded as the exemplary Muslim woman, especially among Shias.
Firdaus m & f Arabic, Indonesian, Malay, Urdu
Derived from the Arabic word فردوس (firdaws) meaning "paradise", ultimately from an Iranian language, akin to Avestan 𐬞𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌⸱𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬰𐬀 (pairi daēza) meaning "garden, enclosure".
Halimah f Arabic, Malay, Indonesian
Feminine form of Halim. Halimah was the name of the foster mother of the Prophet Muhammad.
Hamidah f Arabic, Indonesian, Malay
Feminine form of Hamid 1.
Harun m Arabic, Turkish, Bosnian, Indonesian, Malay
Arabic form of Aaron. Harun ar-Rashid was a 9th-century Abbasid caliph featured in the stories of The 1001 Nights.
Hashim m Arabic, Urdu, Malay
Means "crusher, breaker" in Arabic. This was the nickname of a great-grandfather of the Prophet Muhammad. He acquired this nickname because of his practice of crumbling bread and giving it to pilgrims.
Ibrahim m Arabic, Malay, Indonesian, Pashto, Urdu, Kazakh, Tatar, Bashkir, Avar, Bosnian, Dhivehi, Albanian, Hausa, Swahili
Arabic form of Abraham, also used in several other languages.
Idris 1 m Arabic, Malay, Indonesian
Possibly means "interpreter" in Arabic. According to the Quran this was the name of an ancient prophet. He is traditionally equated with the Hebrew prophet Enoch.
Imran m Arabic, Urdu, Punjabi, Malay, Indonesian, Bengali
Arabic form of Amram. This is the name Muslims traditionally assign to the father of the Virgin Mary (analogous to the Christian Joachim).
Intan f Indonesian, Malay
Means "diamond" in Malay and Indonesian.
Iskandar m Arabic, Indonesian, Malay
Arabic, Indonesian and Malay form of Alexander.
Ismail m Arabic, Malay, Indonesian, Uyghur, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Chechen, Avar, Albanian
Form of Ishmael in several languages. It is also an alternate transcription of Arabic إسماعيل (see Isma'il).
Jamaluddin m Arabic, Indonesian, Malay, Dari Persian
Alternate transcription of Arabic جمال الدين (see Jamal ad-Din), as well as the Indonesian, Malay and Dari Persian form.
Jamilah f Arabic, Indonesian, Malay
Feminine form of Jamil. This was the name of a wife of the caliph Umar.
Kasih f Indonesian, Malay
Means "love" in Malay and Indonesian.
Khadijah f Arabic, Malay
Alternate transcription of Arabic خديجة (see Khadija), as well as the usual Malay form.
Khatijah f Malay
Malay variant form of Khadija.
Latifah f Arabic, Malay, Indonesian
Feminine form of Latif.
Mahmud m Arabic, Persian, Pashto, Uzbek, Bengali, Indonesian, Malay
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.
Maimunah f Arabic (Rare), Malay, Indonesian
Alternate transcription of Arabic ميمونة (see Maymunah), as well as the usual Malay and Indonesian form.
Mariam f Biblical Greek, Georgian, Armenian, Malay, Arabic
Form of Maria used in the Greek Old Testament, as well as the Georgian, Armenian and Malay form. It is also an alternate transcription of Arabic مريم (see Maryam).
Mawar f Indonesian, Malay
Means "rose" in Malay and Indonesian.
Melati f Indonesian, Malay
Means "jasmine flower" in Malay and Indonesian, ultimately from Sanskrit मालती (malati).
Mohamad m Arabic, Malay, Indonesian
Alternate transcription of Arabic محمّد (see Muhammad), as well as a Malay and Indonesian variant.
Mokhtar m Arabic (Maghrebi), Persian, Malay
North African, Persian and Malay form of Mukhtar.
Muhamad m Indonesian, Malay, Avar
Indonesian, Malay and Avar variant of Muhammad.
Muhammad m Arabic, Urdu, Punjabi, Pashto, Bengali, Tajik, Uzbek, Indonesian, Malay, Avar
Means "praised, commendable" in Arabic, derived from the root حمد (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.... [more]
Muslim m Arabic, Urdu, Kazakh, Indonesian, Malay
Name for a follower of Islam, ultimately from Arabic أسْلم (aslama) meaning "to surrender, to submit".
Nor 1 f & m Malay
Malay variant of Nur.
Nur f & m Arabic, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Urdu, Bengali, Uyghur, Indonesian, Malay
Means "light" in Arabic. In Islamic tradition النور (al-Nur) is one of the 99 names of Allah.
Nurul m & f Arabic, Indonesian, Malay
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").
Omar 1 m Arabic, Bosnian, Kazakh, Malay, English, Spanish, Italian
Alternate transcription of Arabic عمر (see Umar). This is the usual English spelling of the name of the 12th-century poet Umar Khayyam. In his honour it has sometimes been used in the English-speaking world, notably for the American general Omar Bradley (1893-1981).
Othman m Arabic, Malay
Alternate transcription of Arabic عثمان (see Uthman), as well as the usual Malay form.
Putera m Malay
Means "son, prince" in Malay, ultimately from Sanskrit पुत्र (putra).
Puteri f Malay
Means "daughter, princess" in Malay, ultimately from Sanskrit पुत्री (putri).
Rahman m Arabic, Persian, Pashto, Indonesian, Malay, Bengali
Means "merciful" in Arabic. In Islamic tradition الرحمٰن (al-Rahman) is one of the 99 names of Allah.
Ramlah f Arabic, Malay
Means "sand" in Arabic. This was the name of one of the wives of the Prophet Muhammad.
Ruslan m Russian, Tatar, Bashkir, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Turkmen, Azerbaijani, Ossetian, Chechen, Ingush, Avar, Circassian, Indonesian, Malay
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.
Saad m Arabic, Malay
Alternate transcription of Arabic سعد (see Sa'd), as well as the usual Malay form.
Sabri m Arabic, Turkish, Albanian, Malay
Means "patient" in Arabic.
Said m Uzbek, Tajik, Chechen, Avar, Indonesian, Malay, Arabic
Form of Sa'id in several languages, as well as an alternate transcription for Arabic.
Saiful m Arabic, Bengali, Indonesian, Malay
First part of compound Arabic names beginning with سيف ال (Sayf al) meaning "sword of the" (such as Sayf ad-Din).
Shamsuddin m Arabic, Bengali, Malay
Alternate transcription of Arabic شَمس الدين (see Shams ad-Din), as well as the usual Bengali and Malay form.
Sharif m Arabic, Urdu, Pashto, Persian, Tajik, Uzbek, Malay
Means "eminent, virtuous" in Arabic. This was a title used by the descendants of Muhammad.
Sharifah f Arabic, Malay
Feminine form of Sharif.
Siti f Malay, Indonesian
Malay form of Sita.
Sitti f Maguindanao, Tausug, Malay, Indonesian
Maguindanao and Tausug form of Siti, as well as a Malay and Indonesian variant.
Sulaiman m Arabic, Indonesian, Malay
Alternate transcription of Arabic سليمان (see Sulayman), as well as the usual Indonesian and Malay form.
Wangi f Indonesian, Malay
Means "fragrant" in Malay and Indonesian.
Wati f Indonesian, Malay
From a suffix meaning "woman" in Indonesian, ultimately from Sanskrit.
Wira m Indonesian, Malay
Means "hero" in Indonesian and Malay, ultimately from Sanskrit वीर (vira).
Zakaria m Georgian, Malay, Indonesian, Arabic
Georgian, Malay and Indonesian form of Zechariah and Zacharias, as well as an alternate transcription of Arabic زَكَرِيّا (see Zakariyya).
Zarina f Uzbek, Kazakh, Tajik, Urdu, Malay
From Persian زرین (zarin) meaning "golden". According to the 5th-century BC Greek historian Ctesias, this was the name of a Scythian queen.