Where did the name “wicakbun” come from?
The story behind my online pseudonym and the meaning it carries
If you have come across my username online, you may have noticed that I often use the name “wicakbun.” Some people have asked where that name came from, and the story actually goes back to my college days.
At the time, I was studying Geological Engineering at the ITB. In the 2014 cohort, there happened to be two students with the nickname Wira: myself and another classmate from Bali named I Made Wira Adi Nugraha.
Get Wira Cakrabuana’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
Because of this, confusion was almost inevitable. Whenever someone mentioned the name “Wira,” people often had to ask, “Which Wira?” Was it me, or was it Wira from Bali?
Since my friend from Bali seemed perfectly comfortable keeping his nickname, the solution came from our classmates. Out of nowhere — at least as far as I remember — someone started calling me “wicakbun,” a shortened and slightly playful version of my full name, Wira Cakrabuana.
The nickname stuck surprisingly well.
I didn’t mind it at all. In fact, I thought it sounded quite catchy — especially for something like a social media username. Over time, I began using wicakbun on almost all of my accounts, from social media platforms to more professional or formal services.
So if you ever see the name wicakbun somewhere online, there’s a good chance it’s me. What started as a simple solution to a classroom confusion eventually became my digital identity.
