Which of these Muslim first names should I choose?

Which of these Muslim first names should I choose?

  • Adam

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Altair

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Ibrahim

    Votes: 1 50.0%
  • Khalid

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Musa

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Omar

    Votes: 1 50.0%
  • Yazid

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Yusuf

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    2

Koopa39

Member
Assalam Alaykoum,

I live in Western Europe.

I’m a (Sunni) Muslim convert, thus I wish to choose a Muslim first name for myself.

After a lot of research, I have narrowed down my list to the following eight first names.

Adam
Altair
Ibrahim
Khalid
Musa
Omar
Yazid
Yusuf

My surname (family name) is: Lambton.
My first name should fit well with my surname.

Please vote and tell me which first name you prefer. If you can, sort them from best to worst.

Thanks in advance.
 

Abu Juwairiya

Junior Member
Assalam Alaykoum,

I live in Western Europe.

I’m a (Sunni) Muslim convert, thus I wish to choose a Muslim first name for myself.

After a lot of research, I have narrowed down my list to the following eight first names.

Adam
Altair
Ibrahim
Khalid
Musa
Omar
Yazid
Yusuf

My surname (family name) is: Lambton.
My first name should fit well with my surname.

Please vote and tell me which first name you prefer. If you can, sort them from best to worst.

Thanks in advance.

These are just personal preferences and opinions in relation to your list alone.

A Prophet's name is always preferable and those ones whose meanings you know which you fit in with [either with your personality, level of Eeman, etc.] or wish to live up to. You have four names of Prophets and all of them represent a particular type of personality and manner of achieving things.

In respect to Non Prophet names, you may want to select the person most associated with [i.e. Khalid- if you believe yourself to be a soldier of Allah, a Defender of Islam etc.] I believe you have at least three names of Companions.

The only name I am unfamiliar with is Altair, perhaps you can enlighten me as to its origin, meaning or person specification.

As to my immediate order of preference, I have listed them according to the above traits with one exception. I have added a name, Isa [pronounced Eesah]. This is because it is another Prophet's name and as the Messenger of Allah, the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said, Jesus, was someone who always selected the middle course of things, was neither harsh nor judgmental and was among the 'Five Messengers of Strong Will' as mentioned in the Qur'an.

My order of preference is as follows-

1. Isa
2. Yusuf
3. Ibrahim
4. Adam
5. Musa
6. Yazid
7. Omar
8. Khalid
9. Altair

I have highlighted one name. This is because many Muslims worldwide have strong opinions and a variation of opinions on a companion with that name. As a Sunni Muslim you need to be aware of the controversy surrounding the name's association to millions of Muslims across the globe even if you take no interest in the story of the most famous follower of the Prophet with that name.

Historically, there have been two most prominent Companions of the Prophet with that name, but the one who the Messenger of Allah knew best, is little known and almost lost to history. That was Yazid, an older brother of Muawaiya, [who was himself one of the earliest Caliphs of Islam]. He was a Governor of Syria and was martyred in the reign of Omar.

The second Yazid, was the son of Muawaiya. He was a Companion but had spent little time with the Prophet and was very young when the Messenger (SAW) passed away. He was nominated for the office of Caliph in his lifetime and became caliph after his father's death.

The controversy is over the death of Hussain, a grandson of the Prophet, who wished to speak with Yazid about the legality of the nature of his caliphate and during the time period between the start of Yazid's caliphate and the return of his Governor, Ubaydullah, for the talks between them, Hussain was killed.

I will say little more over the exact circumstances, but end with these remarks. Yazid is seen as the epitome of evil for his role in the killing of Hussain who was assassinated on the orders of Ubaydullah. The question is was Yazid the one who orchestrated and planned the whole thing. Hence the name Yazid is associated with murder among several sects of Muslims worldwide.
 

Koopa39

Member
[...]
The only name I am unfamiliar with is Altair, perhaps you can enlighten me as to its origin, meaning or person specification.

As to my immediate order of preference, I have listed them according to the above traits with one exception. I have added a name, Isa [pronounced Eesah]. This is because it is another Prophet's name and as the Messenger of Allah, the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said, Jesus, was someone who always selected the middle course of things, was neither harsh nor judgmental and was among the 'Five Messengers of Strong Will' as mentioned in the Qur'an.

My order of preference is as follows-

1. Isa
[...]
Altair is an Arabic name that means “the flying one” (I think). But after closer inspection, it doesn’t seem to be a Muslim name (it wasn’t the name of any companion), so I will eliminate this name from my list.

The problem with the name Isa is that in the West the name Isa is the nickname/diminutive of various female names like Isabela, Isabella, Isabel, Isabell, Isabelle, Elisabeth, etc.


.


I think that I might have spotted a big problem with the name Khalid: the “Kh” sound at the beginning is very unintuitive and difficult to pronounce for English speakers.

Am I right? Is this indeed a big problem?

As I travel very often, it would be annoying to have to explain how to pronounce my name correctly (if its pronunciation is unintuitive) to each new person I meet…
 

Abu Juwairiya

Junior Member
Altair is an Arabic name that means “the flying one” (I think). But after closer inspection, it doesn’t seem to be a Muslim name (it wasn’t the name of any companion), so I will eliminate this name from my list.

The problem with the name Isa is that in the West the name Isa is the nickname/diminutive of various female names like Isabela, Isabella, Isabel, Isabell, Isabelle, Elisabeth, etc.

I think that I might have spotted a big problem with the name Khalid: the “Kh” sound at the beginning is very unintuitive and difficult to pronounce for English speakers.

Am I right? Is this indeed a big problem?

As I travel very often, it would be annoying to have to explain how to pronounce my name correctly (if its pronunciation is unintuitive) to each new person I meet…

OK, fine about Isa. I don't think you should have a problem with Khalid because of the 'Kh', as many Muslims travel to the US and other countries for study and no one has said anything about pronunciation difficulties by Non Muslims about this.
 
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