Ruling on changing one's name after embracing Islam
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Q: Is it obligatory for a person who has declared his Islam to change his previous name, such as George or Joseph or others like them?
A: It is not obligatory for him to change his name, unless it is a name of worship for other than Allah. However, it is prescribed to improve it, so changing his name from a non-Arabic name to an Islamic name is appropriate and good. As for obligation, there is none. Or, if his name is 'Abd al-Masih (Servant of the Messiah) or similar names that are names of worship for other than Allah, then it is obligatory to change it, because it is worship of other than Allah by the consensus of the scholars, as transmitted by Abu Muhammad ibn Hazm (may Allah have mercy on him). And success is from Allah.
A: It is not obligatory for him to change his name, unless it is a name of worship for other than Allah. However, it is prescribed to improve it, so changing his name from a non-Arabic name to an Islamic name is appropriate and good. As for obligation, there is none. Or, if his name is 'Abd al-Masih (Servant of the Messiah) or similar names that are names of worship for other than Allah, then it is obligatory to change it, because it is worship of other than Allah by the consensus of the scholars, as transmitted by Abu Muhammad ibn Hazm (may Allah have mercy on him). And success is from Allah.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.