Study finds hundreds of people in Indonesia legally named after Naruto, Inuyasha, other anime stars

A recent study reveals that hundreds of Indonesians have legally chosen names inspired by popular anime characters. The Directorate General of Population and Civil Registration in Indonesia, part of the Ministry of Home Affairs, released its latest census data, which found a significant number of residents whose names are derived from anime and manga.

The most common anime name among Indonesians is Uzumaki, with 190 people adopting the surname belonging to the Naruto character. Another 157 Indonesians are named Naruto, hailing from the same series. There are 158 individuals named Sasuke and 152 named Uchiha, creating a total of 347 people whose names are associated with "Naruto Uzumaki," and 310 people whose names are linked to "Sasuke Uchiha."

Additionally, 60 Indonesians are named Boruto, the son of Naruto and star of his own sequel spinoff. Doraemon, a popular character from the series of the same name, inspired 181 people with the name Nobita, after the series' lead human character. There are also 16 people named Doraemon and 8 named Suneo, who is Nobita's wealthy associate.

Anime's popularity in Indonesia has resulted in 79 people named Luffy and 37 named Usopp, inspired by the Pirate saga One Piece. Furthermore, 65 people in Indonesia are named Shinchan, after the titular tyke of the Crayon Shin-chan series, and 23 individuals are named Inuyasha. While the census data does not specify the ethnic background of these individuals, it is unlikely that many of them are ethnic Japanese foreign residents.

The rare names such as Uzumaki and Uchiha, along with Sasuke and Shin, suggest that these names are primarily influenced by the popularity of anime in Indonesia, rather than any direct connection to Japanese culture. As the global fanbase of anime continues to grow, more anime-inspired names may emerge in the real world in the years to come.