Islam Converts to Islamic faith may choose a new name; although it is not required, it may in some cases be preferable for personal reasons or because the name is of uncertain Islamicity (e.g. the person converting has a theophoric name in another religion, such as Christopher or Ganesh). Boxer Cassius Clay's adoption of the name Muhammad Ali is a well-known example, as is Cat Stevens' change to Yusuf Islam and Malcolm Little's adoption of the name Malcolm X and later El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. On the other hand, converts may choose to keep their names, as did Dave Chappelle. Women do not normally take their husbands' surnames as their own. Their maiden name continues to be their surname even after marriage. Sometimes their husbands first name becomes their surname, similar to the case of surname chains indicating someone's chain of fathers. In Islamic tradition, there are two kinds of surname: The first kind comes from the father's first name, which means that the particular person is the child of. For example, a name such as ibn Abdullah means "son of Abdullah", or bint Abdullah means "daughter of Abdullah". Father descendant names can be chained, meaning that an individual can have the name of their father, followed by their paternal grandfather, followed by the father of that grandfather, to indicate a patrilineal lineage. The second kind is associated with clan, tribal or ethnic affiliation and is also solely dependent on the person's patrilineal line. In Islamic family law, the individual is required to keep the clan, tribal or ethnic affiliation of their father where it is known, whether the child be illegitimate, staying with their mother after divorce or adopted. The last name cannot be changed in such a way as to reflect a heritage that is not that of one's biological father.
Islam Converts to Islamic faith may choose a new name; although it is not required it may in some cases be preferable for personal reasons or because the name is of uncertain Islamicity (eg the person converting has a theophoric name in another religion such as Christopher or Ganesh) Boxer Cassius Clay's adoption of the name Muhammad Ali is a well-known example as is Cat Stevens' change to Yusuf Islam and Malcolm Little's adoption of the name Malcolm X and later El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz On the other hand converts may choose to keep their names as did Dave Chappelle Women do not normally take their husbands' surnames as their own Their maiden name continues to be their surname even after marriage Sometimes their husbands first name becomes their surname similar to the case of surname chains indicating someone's chain of fathers In Islamic tradition there are two kinds of surname The first kind comes from the father's first name which means that the particular person is the child of For example a name such as ibn Abdullah means "son of Abdullah" or bint Abdullah means "daughter of Abdullah" Father descendant names can be chained meaning that an individual can have the name of their father followed by their paternal grandfather followed by the father of that grandfather to indicate a patrilineal lineage The second kind is associated with clan tribal or ethnic affiliation and is also solely dependent on the person's patrilineal line In Islamic family law the individual is required to keep the clan tribal or ethnic affiliation of their father where it is known whether the child be illegitimate staying with their mother after divorce or adopted The last name cannot be changed in such a way as to reflect a heritage that is not that of one's biological father