A 12-year-old boy from Indonesia’s South Sumatra province recently made international news headlines because of his bizarre name – ABCDEF GHIJK.

Yes, you read that correctly, someone actually named their son after the first 11 letters in the English alphabet. The bizarre discovery was made accidentally when the 12-year-old boy took part in a vaccination drive organized by the local police in Muara Enim district. Health workers originally thought the boy’s name was a joke when they saw it in the appointment list, but their smiles turned to utter disbelief when they saw the same name, ABCDEF GHIJK, on his official ID. Photos of the boy’s documents and a name tag embroidered on his clothes went viral online this week after a police officer shared them on social media.

According to Liputan6, the junior high school student said that in the beginning he was laughed at and even bullied because of his unusual name, but in time he had grown to be proud of it. Still, he goes by Adef, as it’s easier to remember and pronounce.

The boy’s father, Zulfahmi, told reporters that he had the name prepared for six years before Adef’s birth, adding that he was an avid crossword puzzle fan and that he had always dreamed of becoming a writer. He apparently loved the alphabet so much that he was prepared to name his second child ‘NOPQ RSTUV’, and the third ‘XYZ’.

Zulfahmi’s wife must not have agreed with the idea of using parts of the English alphabet as names for her children, so the couple’s next two sons were eventually named Ammar and Attur.

The 12-year-old’s full name is ABCDEF GHIJK Zuzu, with the last part being derived from his parents’ names – Zuhro and Zulfahmi.

 

Weird names have become somewhat of a tradition in Indonesia lately. Earlier this year, we wrote about another dad who named his newborn after his workplace – Statistical Information Communication Office…