Al-

Indonesian

Etymology

Prefix

Al-

the (before names from Arabic)

Usage notes

Reserved for personal names derived from Arabic, compare native si (“the”), used for living beings and adjectives. Indonesian naming legally does not allow any punctuation, including hyphens. Because of this, names are either separated by a space (e.g. Al Fathan), or simply joined to the head noun (e.g. Alfarizi), anyway, it always behaves as a prefix. These rules, alongside the consonant assimilation as in the Arabic etymon (e.g. Azzahra), are inconsistent and may vary by person.