Malaysian Names and Titles

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Contents 1 Royal Titles 2 Honorariums 3 Religious Titles 4 Everyday Titles 5 Patronymic Naming System 5.1 bin and binti 5.2 Married Names 6 Examples

Royal Titles

Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the official title of the ruler of all Malaysia, who is elected from among the nine heads of Malaysia’s royal families. The equates to that of King in English.

Timbalan Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the official title of the deputy ruler of all Malaysia, who is also elected from among the nine heads of the royal families.

Raja Permaisuri Agong is the official title of the consort of the ruler of Malaysia. The equates to that of "Queen" in English.

Tunku and Tengku are actually the same and equate to the English "prince" or "princess". It title is written Tunku in the states of Kedah, Johor, and Negeri Sembilan. It is written as Tengku in Pahang, Selangor, Kelantan and Terengganu. In Perlis, it is Syed. In Perak it is Raja.

Yang di-Pertua Negeri is not a royal title, but the title of the Head of the State for the for Malaysian states which do not have hereditary rules: Penang, Melaka, Sabah, and Sarawak, which do not have hereditary rulers. The Yang di-Pertua Negeri are installed by His Majesty Yang di-Pertuan Agong. The title is sometimes translated as Governor in English.

Honorariums

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong also grants honors to individuals who are nominated by the Malaysian Government. These would be comparable to Western European knighthoods.

Tun is the most senior federal title and is awarded to recipients of either the Seri Maharaja Mangku Negara (Grand Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm) (SMN) or the Seri Setia Mahkota (Grand Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia) (SSM). There may not be more than 25 (SMN) and 35 (SSM) living holders of each of these awards respectively at any one time. The title for the wife of a Tun is called Toh Puan. The recipients and their wives are then bestowed with the style of Yang Amat Berbahagia (The Most Felicitous).

Tan Sri is the second-most senior federal title and is used to denote recipients of the Panglima Mangku Negara (Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm) (PMN) and the Panglima Setia Mahkota (Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia) (PSM). The wife of a Tan Sri is called Puan Sri. The recipients and their wives are then bestowed with the style of Yang Berbahagia (The Felicitous).

Dato' Sri or Dato' Seri are the highest state titles conferred by the state rulers on the most deserving recipients who have contributed greatly to the nation or state. The title ranks below the federal title Tun and is an honor equivalent to federal title Tan Sri. The wife of a recipient is Datin Sri or Datin Seri.

Datuk is a federal title granted to recipients of Panglima Jasa Negara (Commander of the Order of Meritorious Service) (PJN) and Panglima Setia Diraja (Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Royal Family of Malaysia) (PSD). There may be up to 200 living PJN holders and 200 living PSD holders at any one time. The wife of a Datuk is called a Datin. The title of Datuk can also be conferred in the states that have governors, rather than rulers: Malacca, Penang, Sarawak, and Sabah. The recipients and their wives are then bestowed with the style of Yang Berbahagia (The Felicitous).

Religious Titles

Sheikh was originally an honorific term in the Arabic language that typically designated a chief of a tribe, a royal family member, a Muslim religious scholar, or an elder. Today it is a title given to many South Asian Muslim castes as an occupational title attributed to Muslim trading families.

Tuanku is a title for a religious leader or a prominent scholar who is considered to have mastered Islamic religious science. Usually, this title is followed by the name of the region or surau where the cleric taught. Tuanku can also refer to the title given to the King (Sultan) and his descendants on the male side.

If someone has been on the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, they may be called Haji for men or Hajjah for women.

Everyday Titles

• Encik equates to Mr.
• Puan equates to Mrs.
• Cik equates to Miss

When someone is referred to using only one name, the first name is always used, never the second. For example: Abram Musa would be Abram or Encik Abram. Aisyah Osman would be Aisyah or Puan/Cik Aisyah. An exception to this rule is when a man's personal name comes after the Islamic prophet Mohammed's name, or the word Abdul. In such cases, the man will usually be referred to by his second name. For example, Mohammed Hisyam bin Ariffin would be referred by the name Hisyam.

Patronymic Naming System

bin and binti

A Malay name typically consists of a personal name followed by a patronym. Most Malays do not use family names or surnames. For men, the patronym consists of the title bin (meaning son of) followed by his father's personal name. For women, the patronym consists of the title binti (meaning daughter of) followed by her father's name. In general practice, most Malays omit the title bin or binti from their names, but when presented in this way, the second part of the name should not be mistaken for a family name.

Married Names

A Malay woman does not change her name upon marriage, as is done in many cultures.

Examples

• Italic type = Title or Honorific
• Bold type = Given name
• Regular type = Patronymic name

• Abdullah bin Abdul al Kadir

• Tuanku Sir Abdul Rahman ibni Almarhum Tuanku Muhammad

• Tanku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haq ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah

• Tan Sri Datku Amer Teuku Zakaria bin Teuku Nyak Puteh

• Tengku Ampuan Hajah Afzan Rahimahallah binti Almarhum Tengku Panglima Perang Tengku Muhammad

• Anwar bin Ibrihim

• Dato' Mohd Mokhtar bin Dahari

• Dato’ Sudirman bin Haji Arshad

• Yasmin binti Ahmad

• Yang Berbahagia Dato’ Dr. Shiekh Muszaphar Shukor Al Masrie bin Sheikh Mustapha