Name change

Hope this helps:

How important is it for a new Muslim to change his name?
Upon becoming muslim, how important is it to change your name?and what is the differance between an arabic name and a muslim name?.

Praise be to Allaah.

Names carry meanings, and every person will be influenced by (the meaning of) his name, in most cases. Man is required to call himself – or his children – by good names with good meanings, so that they will be influenced positively by their names.

Islam came to the Arabs and the non-Arabs, and it is not essential for a new Muslim to take an Arabic name, rather what is required is that he should not have a name that is ugly or carries a meaning that goes against Islam. Many Persians and Byzantines embraced Islam and kept their names, and did not change them. Indeed many of the Prophets had names that were not Arabic because they were not Arabs.

Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked: Does a person who becomes Muslim have to change his name like George or Joseph etc?

He replied:

He does not have to change his name unless it is a name that reflects servitude to someone or something other than Allaah, but it is good to change his name to something better. So if he changes his name from a foreign name to an Islamic name, that is good, but as to whether it is obligatory, no it is not.

But if his name was ‘Abd al-Maseeh [= “slave of the Messiah”, a name common among Arab Christians; a similar name in English cultures would be “Christopher” -- Translator] or something of that nature, then he should change it, but if the name does not imply servitude to anything or anyone other than Allaah, such as George and Paul, etc., then he does not have to change it, because these names are shared by Christians and others. And Allaah is the Source of strength.

Fataawa Islamiyyah, 4/404.

See also the answer to Question no. 14622.

source

Thanks, Member X. I have a typically English name, so I may not have to change it, but I will worry about that when the time comes.

Salaam
I dont advise you to change your name , many companions of the prophet kept the name their mother's gave them so i dont think there is any need to change your name , because you might be aliented from your society ..etc but it's up to you.

I wouldn't recommend it... Islam is not about being Arab, or adopting an Arab name.. (which is really what "Islamic names" are...) I mean, you can if you want (although I hear it's not recommended to change the last name) but I just don't see any point in doing so, and I know it's definitely not mandatory.

Well as I said, I have a typical English/American first name and surname, so if I don't have to change it, I won't worry about it. I'm still going to the same person I always was, just a more refined, improved version.

Thanks for all the replies.

I recommend in general to not choose a Muslim name until you personally feel a compelling reason to do so. I especially don't recommend having your Muslim brothers calling you one thing (like Hossein) and everybody else still calling you by your birth name (like Donald) because that seems two-faced and hypocritical. The same goes for not changing the way you dress as long as you are covered from the waist to the knees with clothing that is not tight-fitting. I legally changed my name so I would be known as a Muslim, but I kept my father's name as part of my new-and-improved name.

Yeah, I think I have decided that when I do take the shahada, I won't change my name. I will still be the same guy on the outside, just hopefully a new and improved version of myself.