I grew up in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. But my dad is from East Java. In East Java, all little girls are called “Noni” and all little boys are called “Sinyo”. It’s the weirdest thing ever when I think about it, because when there is a family get together, there are so many “Nonies” and so many “Sinyos”. You just have to make an assumption when your aunt or uncle called “Noni”, he or she must’ve called your cousin (their daughter). The nickname Sinyo and Noni are only given to the first born boys and girls. In my case, I have an older and a younger brother, thus my older brother entitled the nickname “Sinyo”. Of course as I grew older, my parents and brothers still call me “Noni”.
I used to hate my nickname. In fact, I made my brothers not to call my nickname when we were in school. As I grew older, it didn’t bother me that much but I still feel this weirdness when my parents call me “Noni”. Imagine you’re 30 some years old and people still call you “Bobby”. It’s just weird.
Now, my hubby calls me “Say”, which means “Hon” in Indonesian.
Tags: Indonesian nickname
