Expert: Indonesia Expat - 12/20/2006

Question
We are having a long-standing battle at my work (I'm a proofreader on a government immigration contract) regarding Indonesian names.  My supervisor insists that the name Fnu is a common Indonesian first name.  I am almost positive that it is an abbreviation used by the government for First Name Unknown.  Have you ever heard of anyone from Indonesia with the first name of Fnu?  I'm not kidding, we've disagreed on this for about three years.  Any help would be deeply appreciated!

Answer
Honestly, I've never heard this used as a first name anywhere in Indonesia, and I've heard some very confusing ones in my time here. In addition, people here can have several given names but no surname. Then again, some have both.

That being said, it would not be uncommon for somebody's first name to be unknown in Indonesia as there are many problems with government agencies keeping proper records and citizens being able to outright buy their 'official' paperwork such as birth certificates, national ID cards, drivers licenses, etc.

After doing a bit of additional research, I would have to agree 100%: FNU stands for 'first name unknown'.