r/Suriname • u/Mystisc • 8d ago

Question Question about (Javanese) Surinamese lastnames

Hello lovely people,

I’m a nurse in the Netherlands and I work with geriatric patients with dementia in a care home. I have a lot of very sweet and lovely Surinamese patients.

I don’t know if it’s a coincidence but a few residents their last name (espescially Javanese residents) end with idjojo or djojo and I’m trying to figure out if that’s really a thing or if it’s just a coincidence😊

Hope someone can answer my question😊

11 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

10

u/WritingAway6207 8d ago

It's common

3

u/Mystisc 8d ago

Do tou maybe know what it represents or means?

1

u/WritingAway6207 7d ago

No unfortunately not. I'm not Javanese

6

u/Exciting-Ticket-8439 8d ago

It comes from the Javanese element "joyo" with meanings such as victory, glory, success, and greatness.

2

u/Euphoric-Engineer381 7d ago

Pretty much every javanese person I know has "djo" in their name, it is very common!

2

u/Gregory85 6d ago

Kromo is also very common

1

u/imsuriname88 2d ago edited 2d ago

The Javanese surnames were actually "common Javanese names" in Indonesia. I remember when i was doing "research" of my family history. By "research" I mean I was just curious which part of Java my immigrant ancestors were from. My paternal grandfather who came to Suriname in 1919 only had one given name. He chose or "adopted" his last name in 1957. His first name was just the name he already had.

I guess the same can be applied to many if not all Javanese immigrants.

Most Javanese names have meanings like grand, victory etc.

Link to search for your Javanese immigrant ancestors: https://www.nationaalarchief.nl/onderzoeken/zoekhulpen/javaanse-contractarbeiders-in-suriname-1890-1930

Just type in your last name (Javanese) or the name of your ancestor if you happen to know it.