Ruling on changing one's name after embracing Islam
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question: Is it obligatory for one who has declared his Islam to change his previous name, such as George, Joseph, or others?
Answer: He is not required to change his name unless it is a name of one who worships other than Allah, but improving it is prescribed. So, changing his name from foreign names to Islamic names is good, but it is not obligatory. If his name is Abd al-Masih (Servant of the Messiah) or similar, he changes it. But if he did not worship other than Allah, such as George, Paul, or others, he is not required to change it; because these are common names that belong to the Christians and to others. And success is from Allah.
Answer: He is not required to change his name unless it is a name of one who worships other than Allah, but improving it is prescribed. So, changing his name from foreign names to Islamic names is good, but it is not obligatory. If his name is Abd al-Masih (Servant of the Messiah) or similar, he changes it. But if he did not worship other than Allah, such as George, Paul, or others, he is not required to change it; because these are common names that belong to the Christians and to others. And success is from Allah.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.