Can I change my surname to an islamic one as my current one is strongly christian one?

Answer 1

go Ahead and change your name to Islamic name its fine :)

Answer:

Laa Ilaaha Illa Allah ! Please I wish people would know what they are talking about before they write an answer. The above answer is completely wrong.

Many people, when they embrace Islam, change their first and last names. This is NOT according to the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him). To prove this: many companions had last names from the times of idol-worship, like Abdush-Shams (Slave of the Sun), and they did not change their names.

A persons last name is not just a personal thing. It indicates where your lineage is from. It shows your family and, by extention, your ancestors. It is important to keep for several reasons. First, Allah insists on honoring lineages and family origins. One of the characteristics of the evildoers, as stated in the Qur'an is they they seek to destroy nature, and the integrity of kinship identity. In Surat Al-Baqarah: "Wa yuhlick al-harthu wa An-Nasl". Secondly, If family names are altered, then how do you know who is marrying whom? It may come to be that near-relations marry each other. Now in a situation such as this - where someone converts - that's obviously not going to happen; but the precident is there, the reasons are there and the example of the companions (and therefore the Sunnah, is there).

The Prophet would change a person's name if it was a bad or evil thing, but NEVER a person's last name - no matter what it meant.