Data story
One name, many spellings
One name can be spelled several ways, and JPN counts every spelling separately. We found 36 pairs of names that differ by a single letter pattern and share the same sourced meaning.
- Spelling pairs
- 36
- Top pattern
- -ah / -a
- Peak of "sy" in JPN
- 19% · 1990s
- Other spellings on record
- 11
One letter pattern, the same meaning
36 pairs of names differ by a single pattern and share the same sourced meaning. The -ah / -a pattern is the most common (9 pairs).
- -ah / -a 9
- e / i 6
- o / u 5
- ee / i 3
- kh / k 3
- oo / u 2
- q / k 2
- ph / f 2
- ff / f, ll / l … 2
- th / t 1
- y / i 1
Every pair, by pattern
Each pair links to the pages of both spellings, with their meaning and sources. The better-known spelling is listed first.
-ah / -a 9
e / i 6
Spelling patterns by name category
“th” appears in 5% of single-word Indian names, while “sy” appears in 4.5% of Malay names. These patterns describe how names are spelled in Rumi.
| Category | sy | sh | q | kh | dh | th | z | ee | oo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malay Names (2,509) | 4.5% | 4.3% | 2.2% | 2.5% | 0.6% | 1% | 14% | 0.9% | 0.1% |
| Indian Names (1,427) | 0.1% | 18% | 0.5% | 2% | 4.7% | 5% | 1.4% | 4.1% | 0.8% |
| Western Names (94) | 0% | 7.4% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 7.4% | 1.1% | 2.1% | 0% |
Spelling patterns in the JPN 'Malay' table
Entries with “sy” held 19% of the top-10 total in the 1990s, and “q” reached 19% in the 1990s. “z” peaked earlier, 42% in the 1970s.
| Pattern | 40 | 50 | 60 | 70 | 80 | 90 | 00 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| “sy” | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 19% | 6.5% | 1% |
| “sh” | 2.4% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 4.5% | 4.8% | 0% | 0% |
| “q” | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 19% | 9.2% | 1.2% |
| “th” | 3.7% | 3.6% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 2.6% | 0% |
| “z” | 14% | 17% | 28% | 42% | 40% | 15% | 7.5% | 1.2% |
Other spellings recorded in the data
Some names have other spellings recorded in a source or in the JPN tables, and 13 name pages chart JPN figures for those other spellings. This list links to each name’s main page.
- Muhammad Mohamad
- Muhammad Muhamad
- Muhammad Firdaus Mohamad Firdaus
- Siti Aishah Siti Aisyah
- Nur Atiqah Nur Atikah
- Muniamah Muniammah
- Pavitra Pavithra
- Darshan Darrshan
- Praveen Pravin
- Aishah Aisyah
- Parvati Parvathy
Pages with JPN figures for other spellings: Muhammad · Nur · Muhammad Firdaus · Siti Aishah · Nur Atiqah · Norhidayah · Muniamah · Pavitra · Nor · Darshan · Praveen · Aishah · Parvati
Sources
How these figures were computed
Spelling pairs: two given-name pages (Malay, Indian or Western; compound names such as Nur Aini are left out) count as a pair when one spelling becomes the other by a single pattern swap from the list above (for example o → u, or -ah → -a) and both have the same first sourced meaning. Search variants not recorded in a source are not used. Patterns in records are the share of single-word given names in each category whose spelling contains the pattern. Patterns in JPN are the share of the top-10 total (boys and girls together) in the JPN 'Malay' table whose entry contains the pattern; patterns that never reach 2% in any decade are not shown. JPN counts every spelling separately.
Last updated .
How to cite
Free to quote with a link to this page. Suggested citation:
MalaysianNames (malaysiannames.com). “Name Spellings in Malaysia: 36 Pairs and JPN Data”. https://malaysiannames.com/en/data-stories/one-name-many-spellings/. Updated . Data: JPN via data.gov.my (CC BY 4.0), last updated 2023-07-26.
Download the JPN top-10 tables we use (decade, table, sex, rank, name, count, share of the top-10 total):
Frequently asked questions
Which spelling is correct, Yusof or Yusuf?
Both are spellings in use. We give no “correct spelling” verdict; we show the recorded spellings and, where they exist, the JPN figures for each.
Does JPN merge different spellings?
No. JPN counts every spelling separately, so Aishah and Aisyah have their own figures. We do not merge them either.
Why do some spellings have no page of their own?
A spelling that appears only as another spelling of one name is shown on that name’s page, and its address redirects there.