Name spellings in Malaysia

Why one name has many spellings

Wikipedia (Malay names) states that Malay names are romanised without a formal system, so the registration clerk or the proposer's preference often determines the spelling, and variants and errors are common. Two other factors are mentioned in our sources. First, Arabic letters have no one-to-one equivalent in Latin script: Bayan Linnas No. 78 (Federal Territories Mufti Office) notes that the letters ‘ain and alif are often written as a plain “A”, which can change pronunciation. Second, Malay spelling itself changed: Wikipedia (Malay orthography) explains that the 1972 spelling reform replaced sh and sj with sy but kept kh. A registered spelling does not necessarily follow that standard.

Muhammad, Mohammad, Mohamad and Mohd

Wikipedia (Malay names) records that the male first element Muhammad is spelled Mohammad or Mohammed, and is often abbreviated Muhd., Mohd., Md. or M.; Mat and Mamat are Malay or informal spoken forms. Current registration rules do not allow abbreviations for children: Bernama and Sinar Harian (26 March 2025) report that D, M, Mohd and Abd are not permitted, and Utusan Malaysia (2018) states that Abd. must be spelled Abdul and Mohd. spelled Mohamad. Abbreviations can still be seen in older registered names. See the JPN rules guide and the pages for Muhammad, Mohammad and Mohd.

Nur, Nurul, Noor and Nor

According to Behind the Name, Nur means “light” in Arabic, and Noor and Nor are listed as variants; Noor is listed for Malay, Indonesian, Urdu and Bengali, while Nor is listed specifically for Malay. Wikipedia (Malay names) records Nur, Nurul, Noor and Nor as the most common first elements in female double names. On this site, Nur and Nor link to each other as other spellings, and Nurul and Noor have their own pages.

Aisyah, Aishah and Ayesha

Wiktionary records that this Arabic name, عَائِشَة (ʕāʔiša), is a female given name most famously borne by the wife of the Prophet Muhammad, with Aisyah as the form in Malay and Indonesian and Ayesha as an alternative form. Sinar Harian (26 March 2025) reported Aisyah, Maryam and Rayyan among names that remain popular. We have pages for Aishah and Ayesha; each has its own meaning source.

Modern spellings: Amir and Ameer, Zahra and Zara

Bernama and Sinar Harian (26 March 2025) report JPN saying parents increasingly alter traditional spellings, for example Amir to Ameer and Zahra to Zara. We keep Amir, Zahra and Zara as separate pages, because a differently spelled registered name is a different record in JPN data.

Chinese and Indian name spellings

Spellings of non-Malay names also follow the original pronunciation. One Chinese character can be spelled Tan, Chan or Chin depending on dialect (SAYS; The Star), and Tamil does not distinguish voiced and voiceless stops the way Latin letters do, so one Tamil name can be spelled with k or g (Wikipedia: Tamil script). See Malaysian Chinese names and Malaysian Indian names.

How we group spellings

Most spellings found in our data have their own page, and the others are noted on their main spelling's page and can be searched, so you can find the spelling you actually use. When two spellings both have a page and have been identified as spellings of the same name, the name page shows an “Other spellings” row linking to the other. For Chinese surnames, one character page lists all romanized spellings of that character. The JPN popularity figures we show count the first name of a registered name as published by JPN, so different spellings are counted separately; we do not merge the figures. The data sources and dates are described on the how we research names page.

Tips when choosing a spelling

• Match your documents

  Use the spelling that appears on the birth certificate or identity card.

• Avoid abbreviations

  JPN reportedly does not allow abbreviations for children.

• Check the pronunciation

  Arabic letters do not map fully to Latin; refer to the original reading.

• Try several spellings when searching

  Use the name search and try the alternatives.

Frequently asked questions

Sources