Changing One's Name After Accepting Islaam
Question:
When a person accepts Islaam, must he change his name - for example, from George or Joseph?
Answer:
Unless a person's name signifies him being a worshipper of the other than Allaah, it is not necessary for him to change his name, it is merely better. So it is good for him to change his foreign name to an Islamic name, but it is not obligatory.
But if his name was 'Abdul Masih (the servant of the Messiah), or something similar, then he definitely has to change it. But in case of other names that do not signify servitude to other than Allaah, like George and Paul etc., then it is not neccessary to change them since these names are used by others as well as Christians. And with Allaah is the facilitation to do what is right.
Shaykh `Abdul-`Azeez Bin Baz
Fatawa Islamiyah, vol.8, p.212, DARUSSALAM
