Alhumdulillah, may Allah reward you for helping another muslim out with more knowledge. I will have to look into it more.

no problem bro, we're always here to help

Why change your name? The Prophet (saws) changed the names of people who had names that had negative or unislamic meanings - ie if someone was named Stupid, his name should be changed to Smart, or if the name was Slave of Jesus, it would be changed to Slave of God.

What was Muhammad's (saws) name before he received revelation? What was Khadija's (ra) name?

My name is Jennifer. It's the name my parents gave me. They chose it, and by keeping it I respect and honor them. It also shows people that one can be a muslim even if they're a white bread, midwestern gal, that Islam isn't a religion of a particular race or restricted to a specific part of the world. Becoming muslim doesn't mean one has to become arab. Nope, haven't changed my name yet, and I'm not going to.

I reverted to Islam almost 26 years ago, but I only changed my name 3 years ago. It is not a requirement to change one's name upon reversion unless it is a bad one. Personally, I wanted to be known by everyone as a Muslim. I see it as an opportunity to witness to others about Islam.

My legal name is Woodrow, it has been for over 67 years now. all of my previous records are in that name. It would be a physical hard ship to even attempt to cange every legal document that pertains to me in the name of Woodrow.

The name Woodrow has no negative connotation as the meaning of it can be. "Protector of the forest" or "Lives by the forest" both of which actually describe much of my life.

However, I do have an Islamic Name Abdullah Muhammad. I chose the Abdullah, the Imam suggested i also add Muhammad. It is my desire to do my best to live up to the meanings of both names. That is the name I use most of the time. although my name is not legaly changed there are no laws that prevent me from using it, as long as I do not use it fraudently or to mislead people. I do have to use Woodrow on all legal contracts, but that is no inconvenience and relates only to State laws. I use woodrow as my ID. As it makes it easier for people I know and I ask to visit the forum.

Plus, I like the look of surprise on peoples faces when they discover somebody named Woodrow is Muslim. I do not fit their preconceived stereotypes, it does open doors for conversation.

Allah has named the followers of His religion "Muslims" not only in the Qur'an but also in Books that He had revealed to previous Prophets.Note also the following verse which states that Prophet Noah, who lived long before Prophet Abraham, told his people that Allah ordered him to be "one of the Muslims":
"But if you [O people!] turn away [from my call], I have not asked you for any reward; my reward is only with Allah, and I have been commanded to be one of al-Muslimin (the Muslims)" (10.72).
So all the prophet are Muslims none are jewish or christians.
If the name is forbidden in Islam. For example, if the name implies worshipping other than Allah like Abdush-Shams (slave of the sun), Abdun-Nabi (slave of the Prophet), Abdul-Maseeh (slave of the Christ), etc. Also, if the name symbolizes idols like Naelah, Hubal or Buddha, then it must be changed immediately if the name is typical of the non-believers like Botros, John, Diana, Suzanne or Victoria, then a Muslim should stay away from these names If the name praises oneself, as in the case of Barrah (pious), the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, changed it to Zainab and said, "Do not praise yourself. Allah knows the pious ones more than you do." (Muslim)
If the name has a bad meaning like the names of animals such as Faar (mouse), Kalb (dog), Hanash (snake). Or pronounced badly in another language such as Tom (many pronounce it Toom, which sounds like garlic in Arabic). If the non-Muslim name is like one of the above then it must be changed to a good Muslim name, one that is desirable in Islam. For example Abdurrahman, Abdullah, any of the Prophets' names, the companions names, the wives of the Prophet, allallahu alayhe wa sallam, or his daughters. It should be taken into consideration that only the first name is changed and not the father's name in any case.

quite true!! who thinks "muslim" when you hear the name "woodrow"?

If someone's got an unislamic name, do they have to change it to an Arabic Islamic name or to any Islamic name (Daniel, Aaron..)?

Belief_is_power: I am a revert and I am also named Daniel. Our name, as I have been told and from all the research I have done is indeed and Islamic name, as posted earlier. Alhamdulillah.
Whenever anyone asks me what my name is, I'll tell them Daniel [naturally]. And then if they proceed to ask me for my Islamic name I will repeat "Daniel". [Yeah, I think I'm hilarious.]

In this shrinking world it is getting to be difficult to identify a Muslim by name alone. Not all people named after Prophets(PBUT) or with Arabic names are Muslim. In fact there are several non- Muslim faiths that often do use Islamic names.

It is wonderful to choose an Islamic name when one reverts. However, I feel the name should be chosen with care and should be a name you desire to live up to the meaning of.

To change a name after reverting is a personal choice and need not be done unless a persons current name is anti-Islamic.

I suspect that a thousand years from now, some writings of pious Muslims will be of Muslims with non-Arabic names. Yet, they may very well be names that future generations will associate with Service to Allaah(swt) and piety.

The question is does the name make the Muslim Islamic, or does the Muslim make the name Islamic?

I think the main reason converts change their name is for a "fresh start", if that makes sense. Starting over, and the new name is just a part of that.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with keeping your own name though, as long as it doesn't contain kufr or anything against islam, and Daniel doesn't, then it's perfectly fine.

Salam.

Asalamualaykum Wr Wb

Daniel is pronounce differently in arabic, it is Dhanyaal. Daniel and Dhanyaal are totatly different.

hi!

Dont pick an arab name just because your muslim now. I am muslim also but I dont have an arab name And I am not the only one.. But you can use names like Mehmet, Ahmet, etc. These are turkish names which have a religious meaning. My name for example does not have a islamic meaning but I dont care I like my name and I am Muslim. What I want to say is, that you dont need an Arabic name just because ya muslim. I mean its not a must be.

I didn't change my name to arab name when I converted to Islam as I like my name and it's a biblical name and I think it's beautiful and it would just confuse everyone if I change my name, mainly my family as they are not Muslims.

Mehmet is really a beautiful name, mashaAllah.