mashallah
Assalam Alaikum Joslyn,
Mashallah I'm an sincerely very happy for you, today you filled my day with joy to know that even though I'm having a bad day (headache...too much studying lol), someone elses day has been filled with light and happiness. I pray that Allah will always be pleased with yourself and your loved ones, and that you are able to guide other people to find the truth in this world and come back to their original fitrah state
You really make me happy, and for the sake of Allah I love you very much. Inshallah if we are both good and Allah is pleased with us, perhaps we will meet one day! I have to say there are soooo many Muslim female names to choose from and my only advice is to pick a name that has a good meaning, or was from a a sister in history who had admirable traits, because I have often heard that the name a person gives has a lot to do with the persona they take on. I think it's more of an ideological and symbolic idea than an actual fact if you know what i mean. In any case, I have just put below a few names that you may like, and of course there are plenty more. As basic of islam wrote, i think there isn't anywhere in the Quran or Sunnah where it explicity states that you should change your name per se, but of course, we are taught in the Quran and Sunnah not to resemble the unbelievers, so perhaps that is enough of a reason to change your name, whatever you choose may Allah be pleased with you.
Farheen (happiness)
Noreen
Farhat (happiness)
Noora
Mehry or Mehri
Tabassum (Smile)
Juveiria
Sana
Sarah
Nazia
Tasnim (a river in Paradise)
Fareesa
Masarath
Leyla or Leila
Afrose
Afsheen
Madiha
Hajira
Ruksana
Hana
Noor
Safa (clarity, purity, serenity)
Zelaikha
And one of my most favourite names is
Iman (faith) and
Haneefa/Hanifa (true believer) and also
Qura-tul-aine (coolness of the eyes... remember the Prophet PBUH referred to salat as the coolness of His eyes, so that's why I like this name)
a link with some names:
http://www.batkhela.com/islam/female-islamic-names.html?page=6
P.S. Sister, I wish that in your quest for knowledge, I know this may sound silly and i don't mean for it to be offensive but just always please use as much logic as possible when learning about Islam. If something doesn't sound right or doesn't sit well with you, ask about it, because it could be that it is a 'cultural' understanding of Islam or just someone giving a narrow-minded view. Islam is a religion that is easy for the believers, and while life is a test, Islam is not supposed to be 'hard' to follow. I hope this helps inshallah.
Alhumdolilah you are muslim.
:arabi1: