after u convert to muslim, do u have to change ur name?

Question

well me and my mum have converted to muslim, and evryone is telling me that i will have to change my name so that others notice u as a muslim, is this true? where and how do i do it?

Answer 1

no u don't have to i converted to Islam but i didn't change my name

Answer 2

first congradulations from the deep oif my heart, i wish god make keep us always on the right path , ad congradulations to ur mother too (:
second:about the names,Islam does not oblige a person to change his/her name when he/she reverts to Islam. What Islam requires is that a person submits peacefully to the One and Only God, and Creator of the universe. That is simply how to become a Muslim. Many of the beloved companions kept their names after reverting to Islam. It was only if the name had tribal connotations of disbelief or was an ugly name that the Prophet Muhammad asked people to change it, as in some cultures ugly names were believed to protect one from evil. Another case is that if the name offends the creed of Islam, such as being a name of a goddess in a traditional culture or alike.

So, only if your name has such connotations in your original language or culture that you are advised make such change. An example for this is the story of Abu Hurairah, the great hadith narrator. His original name was `Abd Sakhr, which means "the servant of the rock"! Because Islam does not permit the concept of being a servant except to the One Who created you--that is, Allah Almighty--the Prophet (peace be upon him) changed the name of this companion to `Abd al-Rahman, which means "the servant of the Merciful". As for his famous nickname; Abu Hurairah, it was given to him later by the Prophet because he used to keep a small kitten (hurairah in Arabic).
so u might not need that!

good luck! and congradulations again.

Answer 3

No, it isn't. If your name has a bad meaning then yes, but if it has a good meaning, then it's not necessary. Bad meanings would be something like "poison" or "bad omen". For example, I'm a muslim woman. My name is Shannon. It means little wise one. That's a good meaning, and nobody wants me to change it. My daughter is Sarah. It means Princess. Of course, her being a daddy's girl and all, that's not a problem.

Answer 4

I think after the great thing which u & ur mother did , u have to concern with the fundamentals of Islam and I think names not one of the fundamentals , its all names but what u have to change are ur models to choose one from Islam and there are a lot of great women in Islam history . keep ur name to stay cool without problems .

Answer 5

first of all mashallah! and congratulations!!!!!!! i converted two yrs ago. you are so blessedthat your mother converted as well.

as for changing your name it is a personal choice. Michael Wolfe and Imam Hamza Yusuf are both very well known Muslim converts..... as you can tell one of them did not change their name

i personally did... for my own reasons. i came from a very diff life than i live now and no longer wanted to associated with my previous career.

i wish you all the best

asalamwalaikum new sister

Answer 6

First, congratulations on converting to Islam, may Allah strengthen your faith.
As for your question, I don't think yahoo answers is the right place for your question, because as you see, many conflicting answers, so I think you should ask an imam or sheikh to give you the right answer.

Answer 7

aslamoalaikum
welcome sis!
well! i don't think u need to....but if u do,it''s better.....b\c name has a lot influence on personality(i've experienced)...so muslims mostly chose names from Quran.n including i think it will give u more comfort,but if u r uncomfortable with that,then leave it.
if u do want to change,u can go to any near islamic centre,for help.
may Allah guide whole humanity on right path(ameen)

Answer 8

Salamaleikum!

My Allah be pleased with your change, may Allah guide you through out all your life inshallah!

I changed it because I wanted to. My name was the name of a saint, so after I converted I wanted something that was more curent with my personality, with my beliefs. After converting I am a more calm person. I think things through... and that is reflected in my current name.

Answer 9

I do not know how Islam does this. But, just for an added note, when I converted to Judaism, I was given a Hebrew name. But, I continued to go by my old name.

Answer 10

no, not really.it is just preferred.for instance,during the prophets time,sum people hu converted to islam changed their names becos they were named after idols or something like tht..its not the name tht matters,its ur faith
assalaamualaikum

Answer 11

At first congratulations!I'm an iranian and a muslim and I'm SURE that u don't have to change ur name.

Good luck dear
Bye

I suggest u that if anytime u wanted to change ur name change it to "Fatima"(It's our prophete's daughter's name and it means a pretty and clean woman!)