Personal Names Derived from Quranic Arabic Words: The Phenomenon of “Bad” Names among Siompu Islanders, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

This study investigates the meanings of Arabic personal names (PNs) of the Quran words origin among Siompu islanders, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. It focuses on the phenomenon of “bad” names, i.e., names derived from Arabic words and wordgroups with negative meanings. The initial corpus of schoolchildren’s personal names (n = 2,662) was examined. Among 1,173 of the Arabic names, 324 (28%) were found to be “bad” names. Some “bad” names are one-word forms (e.g., Jahilun ‘The fool,’ Majnun ‘A madman,’ Khatiun ‘The sinner,’ etc.), while others are two-word formations (e.g., Jabaran Syaqiya ‘Arrogant and unblest,’ Qiratadan Khasirin ‘Despised and hated ape,’ Afakin Asim ‘A sinful liar,’ etc.). Some two-word “bad” names are phrasemes taken from a single Quranic verse, while others are combinations of words from different verses. This trend spread along with the Islamization of the island, the phenomenon being particularly interesting because such names are generally forbidden in Islam. In Siompu, however, giving “bad” names is not intentional as it is in some other cultures, but rather due to the name-givers’ inability to comprehend the meanings of the Arabic words, their lack of knowledge of religious norms, and their misunderstanding of the sacred text used as the source of names. The choice between one-word or two-word names is also based solely on the name-givers’ preferences; no underlying rationale was found during the research. The article provides statistical data and discusses the phenomenon of “bad” names in both regional and broader typological contexts.

Keywords

• anthroponymy
• names with negative connotations
• personal names
• quranic arabic
• semantics
• siompu island
• sulawesi
• the quran