Choosing a name

1When to name: the day of birth or the seventh day

Both are Sunnah. The Prophet ﷺ said of his own son: “A son was born to me last night, and I have named him after my forefather Ibrāhīm” (Muslim 2315)¹. Newborns were brought to him and named the same day: Ibrāhīm son of Abū Mūsā^2,3, ʿAbdullāh son of Abū Ṭalḥah⁴, and al-Mundhir son of Abū Usayd⁵.

He also said the child “is named” on the seventh day, together with the ʿaqīqah and the shaving (Abū Dāwūd 2838)⁶. Another report says he ordered the newborn to be named on the seventh day (al-Tirmidhī 2832, ḥasan)⁷.

Ibn al-Qayyim brings the reports together: you may name your baby on the day of birth, within three days, or on the seventh day, “and the matter is wide”⁸. If you already have a name ready, there is no need to wait.

In the books, naming is the father’s right, and if the parents cannot agree, his choice stands^9,10. In a loving home it is chosen together. The best names come from two parents who have prayed about it.

2The most beloved names

The Prophet ﷺ said: “The names most beloved to Allah among your names are ʿAbdullāh and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān” (Muslim 2132)¹⁵. Names that make a person a servant of Allah, joined to one of His names, carry this meaning: ʿAbd al-Raḥīm, ʿAbd al-Karīm, ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz and others¹⁶.

Ḥanafī scholars add that after these come Muḥammad, Aḥmad and Ibrāhīm¹⁷. A name with a beautiful meaning, a name of a prophet, or the name of a righteous man or woman you hope your child will resemble are all good choices.

3Names of the prophets and the righteous

Asked why Maryam is called “sister of Hārūn” in the Qurʾān, the Prophet ﷺ explained that people “used to name after their prophets and the righteous before them” (Muslim 2135)¹⁸. He named his own son Ibrāhīm¹, and said: “Name with my name, but do not take my kunyah” (Bukhārī 3539)^19,20,21.

Most scholars hold that prophets’ names are not disliked, and Ibn al-Qayyim says this is correct. Ṭalḥah ibn ʿUbayd Allāh named his ten sons after prophets¹⁶. Al-Nawawī reports that the Shāfiʿī school and most scholars also allow the names of angels¹³. Imām Mālik disliked naming a child Jibrīl or Yāsīn. The Ḥanbalīs say these are not disliked¹⁰.

4Names the Prophet ﷺ changed

The Prophet ﷺ cared about the meaning of names, and he gently changed names that carried a bad meaning or praised their owner.

ʿUmar’s daughter was named ʿĀṣiyah, “disobedient”, and he told her: “You are Jamīlah”, “beautiful” (Muslim 2139a)²³. Two women named Barrah, “pious”, were renamed Zaynab, because the name sounded like self-praise (Bukhārī 6192; Muslim 2142a)^24,25. A man named Aṣram, “cut off”, became Zurʿah, “a sown field” (Abū Dāwūd 4954)²⁶. A man called Abū al-Ḥakam was told that al-Ḥakam, the Judge, is Allah, and became Abū Shurayḥ after his eldest son (Abū Dāwūd 4955)²⁷. Abū Dāwūd adds a list of other changed names, without giving their chains: names like Shayṭān were changed, and Ḥarb (“war”) became Silm (“peace”)²⁸.

Ḥazn, “rough ground”, was offered the name Sahl, “easy”, but he said, “I will not change a name my father gave me.” His grandson, the great scholar Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib, said: “The roughness has stayed among us ever since” (Bukhārī 6190)²⁹.

1. Check the meaning

   Look up the meaning of any name you like in a trusted Arabic dictionary, not a baby-name app.³⁰

2. Avoid self-praise

   Avoid names that praise their bearer, as Barrah (“pious”) was changed to Zaynab.²⁴

3. Change a bad name

   If a name has a bad meaning, it is Sunnah to change it, at any age.^23,10

5Names to avoid: forbidden and disliked

A few names are forbidden. The Prophet ﷺ said: “The lowest name before Allah is a man who calls himself King of Kings” (Muslim 2143a; Bukhārī 6205)^31,32. The scholars apply the same to similar titles^13,10. Names that belong to Allah alone, such as al-Khāliq (the Creator), al-Razzāq (the Provider), al-Aḥad or al-Ṣamad, may not be given to a person³³.

Names that make a person the servant of anyone but Allah are forbidden. Ibn Ḥazm reported that the scholars agreed on this, giving examples such as ʿAbd al-ʿUzzā and ʿAbd al-Kaʿbah, though he excepted ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib from the agreement. Ibn al-Qayyim and the Ḥanbalī scholars apply it to names like ʿAbd al-Nabī, ʿAbd ʿAlī and ʿAbd al-Ḥusayn, and Ibn ʿĀbidīn derives a prohibition of ʿAbd al-Nabī from the Ḥanafī texts, quoting al-Damīrī that most scholars forbid it^33,10,17. Choose ʿAbd joined to one of Allah’s names instead.

Some names are disliked, not forbidden. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Do not name your boy Yasār, Rabāḥ, Najīḥ or Aflaḥ.” When you ask “Is he here?” and he is not, the answer “No” sounds like a bad omen (Muslim 2137)^34,35. Jābir reported that the Prophet ﷺ meant to forbid such names, then left it, and passed away without forbidding them (Muslim 2138)³⁶. So the scholars count them as disliked, not forbidden¹⁰. The same goes for names with an ugly meaning, like Ḥarb (“war”) or Murrah (“bitter”), and names of tyrants such as Firʿawn^13,33.

6The kunyah: Abū and Umm

A kunyah is a name of honour beginning with Abū (“father of”) or Umm (“mother of”). Even a little child can be given one. The Prophet ﷺ teased Anas’s small brother: “Abū ʿUmayr, what happened to the little bird?” (Bukhārī 6203)^37,38.

A kunyah does not need a child of that name. ʿĀʾishah had no children, and the Prophet ﷺ told her to take her kunyah from her sister’s son ʿAbdullāh, so she was called Umm ʿAbdillāh (Abū Dāwūd 4970, ṣaḥīḥ)^39,40. A parent with children usually takes the name of the eldest: “Then you are Abū Shurayḥ”^27,13. Mothers have a kunyah too, and al-Nawawī recommends it for women of virtue as for men¹³.

The kunyah Abū al-Qāsim was the Prophet’s ﷺ own, and the schools differ over using it today. Each view is in the box below.

7Naming after a grandparent or a loved one

Naming a child after a loved one, living or departed, is a warm way to honour them, and nothing we found forbids it. The Prophet ﷺ named his son after his forefather Ibrāhīm¹. People before Islam named their children after the prophets and righteous people who came before them¹⁸.

The one question to ask is the name’s meaning. If a beloved grandparent carried a name on the disliked list, you can honour them with a different good name, or with their kunyah.

8Spelling the name for a US birth certificate

Arabic sounds like ʿayn (ʿ), ḥāʾ (ḥ) or a long vowel (ā) have no single English spelling, and rules on accents and other marks vary from state to state and from one document to another. Decide on one spelling before the birth, and use it everywhere: the birth certificate, the Social Security card, the passport and school records.

California: a 2025 law (AB 64) allows accent-type marks such as ā or é. The state health department says it will start adding them to records by amendment from July 1, 2026, and at new registrations only later⁴⁵. The ʿayn and hamza marks used in transliteration are not on its list⁴⁵.

Texas: state law requires the registrar to record “any diacritical mark used in a person’s name”, meaning accents, tildes, graves, umlauts and cedillas⁴⁶.

Georgia: no part of the child’s name may include “any number, symbol, or other non-identifying name information”⁴⁷. The rule does not say whether an apostrophe or accent counts as a symbol, so ask before you fill in the form. Georgia also lets parents choose a surname that follows “a bonafide cultural naming convention” of their nation of origin⁴⁷.

New York and Illinois: we found no published rule on special characters. Check with your state’s vital records office^48,49. New York City’s health department warns: “Be careful when you fill out your baby’s full name… Correcting a birth certificate can cost money or even require a trip to court”⁵⁰.

In any other state, check your state’s vital records office before the birth.

1. Pick one spelling

   Choose one plain-letter spelling (e.g. Abdurrahman or Abdul-Rahman) and use it on every document.⁵⁰

2. Skip ʿ and ʾ

   Leave out ʿayn and hamza marks. Use an apostrophe only if your state accepts it.^45,47

3. Ask your state

   Call your state vital records office before your due date if your name has special characters.^48,49

4. Check before signing

   Read the hospital birth registration form slowly before you sign. Corrections later can cost money.⁵⁰

Sources

1. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2315 The Prophet ﷺ said: “A son was born to me last night, and I have named him after my forefather Ibrāhīm.”
2. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 5467 Abū Mūsā: a son was born to me and I brought him to the Prophet ﷺ. He named him Ibrāhīm, rubbed his palate with a date, prayed for blessing for him and gave him back to me.
3. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6198 Under the chapter “Whoever names with the names of the prophets”: Abū Mūsā’s newborn son was named Ibrāhīm by the Prophet ﷺ.
4. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 5470 Anas brought Umm Sulaym’s newborn son to the Prophet ﷺ with some dates. He chewed one, put it in the baby’s mouth, did taḥnīk and named him ʿAbdullāh.
5. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6191 Al-Mundhir ibn Abī Usayd was brought to the Prophet ﷺ when born. “What is his name?” “So-and-so.” “No, his name is al-Mundhir.” He was named al-Mundhir that day.
6. Sunan Abī Dāwūd 2838 Samurah: the Prophet ﷺ said, “Every child is held in pledge by his ʿaqīqah: it is slaughtered for him on his seventh day, his head is shaved, and he is named.” Grading: ṣaḥīḥ (al-Albānī, Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd 2838; Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 1165). al-Tirmidhī (1522): ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ.
7. Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī 2832 The Prophet ﷺ ordered that the newborn be named on his seventh day, the harm removed from him, and the ʿaqīqah made. Grading: al-Tirmidhī: ḥasan gharīb. al-Albānī: ḥasan (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Tirmidhī 2832).
8. Ibn al-Qayyim, Tuḥfat al-Mawdūd, ch. 8 §1, pp. 102–111 Aḥmad cited Samurah (named on the seventh day). Al-Bayhaqī judged naming at birth the sounder practice. Ibn al-Qayyim: a name may be given on the day of birth, within three days, or on the day of the ʿaqīqah, before or after; “the matter is wide.”
9. Ibn al-Qayyim, Tuḥfat al-Mawdūd, ch. 8 §5, p. 135 Naming is the father’s right; if the parents disagree, his choice stands. The child is called after his father (“Call them by their fathers”, al-Aḥzāb 33:5).
10. al-Buhūtī, Kashshāf al-Qināʿ (Ḥanbalī) 3/25–28 Named on the seventh day (al-Riʿāyah: on the day of birth); naming belongs to the father. Make the name good. Disliked: Ḥarb, Murrah, Ḥazn, Nāfiʿ, Yasār, Aflaḥ, Najīḥ, Barakah, and self-praising names; this is “not ḥarām”. Forbidden: “King of Kings” and the like, names fit only for Allah (Quddūs, al-Barr, Khāliq, Raḥmān), and ʿAbd joined to other than Allah (Ibn Ḥazm’s consensus). Jibrīl and Yāsīn are not disliked. The kunyah Abū al-Qāsim is not disliked after the Prophet’s ﷺ death. A small child, boy or girl, may be given a kunyah.
11. Ibn ʿĀbidīn, Radd al-Muḥtār (Ḥanafī) 6/336 Name the child on his seventh day, shave his head, and (according to “the three imams”) give the hair’s weight in silver or gold. Then the ʿaqīqah, as something permitted (ibāḥah) or voluntary (taṭawwuʿ): one sheep fit for an uḍḥiyah, for a boy and a girl alike. Raw or cooked, bones broken or not, with an invitation or without. Al-Shāfiʿī and Aḥmad hold it a confirmed sunnah: two sheep for a boy, one for a girl.
12. al-Ḥaṭṭāb, Mawāhib al-Jalīl (Mālikī) 3/256 Ibn al-Qāsim heard: the child is named on his seventh day, “and there is latitude in it”, because of the reports of naming at birth. Ibn Ḥabīb: names may be chosen before the seventh day but given on it. A child for whom no ʿaqīqah will be made, because the family cannot afford it, may be named whenever they wish. The jurists of the cities permit the kunyah Abū al-Qāsim; the prohibition is abrogated.
13. al-Nawawī, al-Majmūʿ (Shāfiʿī) 8/434–441 Naming on the seventh day is recommended, and before or after is allowed. Prophets’ and angels’ names are allowed per the madhhab and the majority. Ugly names, and names whose denial sounds like a bad omen, are disliked. “King of Kings” is forbidden. An ugly name should be changed. A kunyah is allowed, even for a small child, and for women too. On Abū al-Qāsim, al-Shāfiʿī forbade it for anyone; Mālik allowed it.
14. Ibn Qudāmah, al-Mughnī (Ḥanbalī) 9/459–463 A sunnah per most scholars; not obligatory. Better than giving its value in charity. Two matching sheep for a boy and one for a girl; one for a boy is valid. On the seventh day, then the fourteenth, then the twenty-first (from ʿĀʾishah); before or after is still valid. Shave the boy’s head and name him on the seventh; giving the hair’s weight in silver is good; naming before the seventh is allowed. Smearing with blood is disliked. Its meat is like the uḍḥiyah’s, cooked in pieces without breaking bones.
15. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2132 “The names most beloved to Allah among your names are ʿAbdullāh and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān.”
16. Ibn al-Qayyim, Tuḥfat al-Mawdūd, ch. 8 §2, pp. 111–113; pp. 127–129 ʿAbdullāh and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān are the most beloved names (the ṣaḥīḥ ḥadīth), though Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib preferred the prophets’ names. Naming after prophets is not disliked, per most scholars, “and that is correct”. Ṭalḥah named his ten sons after prophets.
17. Ibn ʿĀbidīn, Radd al-Muḥtār (Ḥanafī) 6/417–418 The most beloved names are ʿAbdullāh and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān; al-Munāwī: then Muḥammad, Aḥmad, Ibrāhīm. ʿAlī and Rashīd are allowed. One named Muḥammad may take the kunyah Abū al-Qāsim; the prohibition is abrogated. An ugly name is changed. Do not name Yasār, Rabāḥ, Najāḥ, Aflaḥ, Barakah, nor with self-praise like al-Rashīd and al-Amīn. Ibn ʿĀbidīn derives a prohibition of ʿAbd al-Nabī from “nor ʿAbd so-and-so”, and quotes al-Munāwī from al-Damīrī: some allowed it, “and most are for prohibition”. A kunyah for a small child is not disliked, since people mean it as a good omen.
18. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2135 Asked why Maryam is called “sister of Hārūn”, the Prophet ﷺ said: “They used to name after their prophets and the righteous before them.”
19. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 3539 “Name with my name, but do not take my kunyah.”
20. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6187 A man of the Anṣār named his son al-Qāsim; people would not call him Abū al-Qāsim until they had asked the Prophet ﷺ, who said: “Name with my name, but do not take my kunyah.”
21. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2131 A man called out “Abū al-Qāsim!” at al-Baqīʿ and the Prophet ﷺ turned. The man said he meant someone else, and the Prophet ﷺ said: “Name with my name, but do not take my kunyah.”
22. Sunan Abī Dāwūd 4950 “Name yourselves with the names of the prophets. The names most beloved to Allah are ʿAbdullāh and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, the truest are Ḥārith and Hammām, and the ugliest are Ḥarb and Murrah.” Grading: al-Albānī: ṣaḥīḥ except the opening “Name yourselves with the names of the prophets”, which is weak (Ḍaʿīf Abī Dāwūd 4950; Irwāʾ 1178).
23. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2139a Ibn ʿUmar: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ changed the name ʿĀṣiyah (“disobedient”) and said, “You are Jamīlah (“beautiful”).”
24. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6192 Zaynab’s name was Barrah (“pious”); it was said she was praising herself, so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ named her Zaynab.
25. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2142a Zaynab bint Abī Salamah: my name was Barrah and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ named me Zaynab; Zaynab bint Jaḥsh was also called Barrah, and he named her Zaynab.
26. Sunan Abī Dāwūd 4954 A man named Aṣram (“cut off”) came to the Prophet ﷺ, who said: “No, you are Zurʿah (“a sown field”).” Grading: ṣaḥīḥ (al-Albānī, Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd 4954).
27. Sunan Abī Dāwūd 4955 Hāniʾ was called Abū al-Ḥakam. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Allah is al-Ḥakam (the Judge)… Who is your eldest child?” “Shurayḥ.” “Then you are Abū Shurayḥ.” Grading: ṣaḥīḥ (al-Albānī, Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd 4955).
28. Sunan Abī Dāwūd 4956 Abū Dāwūd lists names the Prophet ﷺ changed: al-ʿĀṣ, ʿAzīz, ʿAtalah, Shayṭān, al-Ḥakam, Ghurāb, Ḥubāb and Shihāb (he named one Hishām), Ḥarb to Silm, and a place called ʿAfirah (“barren”) to Khaḍirah (“green”). Grading: The Ḥazn ḥadīth at the head of 4956: ṣaḥīḥ (al-Albānī, Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd 4956). The list of changed names is Abū Dāwūd’s own note, given without chains (“I omitted their chains for brevity”), so it has no grading of its own.
29. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6190 Ḥazn (“rough ground”) came to the Prophet ﷺ, who said, “You are Sahl (“easy”).” He said, “I will not change a name my father gave me.” His grandson Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib said: “The roughness has stayed among us ever since.”
30. Ibn al-Qayyim, Tuḥfat al-Mawdūd, ch. 8 §3, pp. 129–134 Changing a name to a better one, for its ugliness or for another good reason such as avoiding self-praise (Barrah to Zaynab). Examples from the Sunnah and the Companions.
31. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2143a “The lowest name before Allah is a man who calls himself King of Kings.” Sufyān: like “Shāhān Shāh”. In another narration: “There is no king but Allah.”
32. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6205 “The most despicable name before Allah on the Day of Resurrection is that of a man called Malik al-Amlāk (King of Kings).”
33. Ibn al-Qayyim, Tuḥfat al-Mawdūd, ch. 8 §2, pp. 113–127 Ibn Ḥazm reports agreement that every name making one the servant of other than Allah is forbidden (ʿAbd al-ʿUzzā, ʿAbd Hubal, ʿAbd ʿAmr, ʿAbd al-Kaʿbah…), except ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib; so ʿAbd ʿAlī and ʿAbd al-Ḥusayn are not permitted. Forbidden: King of Kings, Sulṭān al-Salāṭīn, Sayyid al-Nās, and Allah’s own names (al-Aḥad, al-Ṣamad, al-Khāliq, al-Razzāq). Disliked: Yasār, Rabāḥ, Najīḥ, Aflaḥ and the like (Mubārak, Mufliḥ, Khayr, Surūr, Niʿmah), names of devils and tyrants, and ugly meanings. Mālik disliked Yāsīn; it is not authentic that Ṭāhā and Yāsīn are names of the Prophet ﷺ.
34. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2137 “Do not name your boy Yasār, Rabāḥ, Najīḥ or Aflaḥ, for you will ask, ‘Is he there?’ and when he is not, the answer will be ‘No’.”
35. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2136 Samurah: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade us to give our servants four names: Aflaḥ, Rabāḥ, Yasār and Nāfiʿ.
36. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2138 Jābir: the Prophet ﷺ intended to forbid the names Yaʿlā, Barakah, Aflaḥ, Yasār and Nāfiʿ, then said nothing more about it and passed away without forbidding it; ʿUmar too intended to forbid it, then left it.
37. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6203 Anas had a little brother called Abū ʿUmayr; the Prophet ﷺ would say to him, “Abū ʿUmayr, what happened to the little bird?”
38. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2150 The same report of Abū ʿUmayr, who had just been weaned.
39. Sunan Abī Dāwūd 4970 ʿĀʾishah said, “Messenger of Allah, all my companions have a kunyah.” He said, “Then take your kunyah from your son ʿAbdullāh” (her sister’s son, ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Zubayr), and she was called Umm ʿAbdillāh. Grading: ṣaḥīḥ (al-Albānī, Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd 4970; al-Silsilah al-Ṣaḥīḥah 132).
40. Ibn al-Qayyim, Tuḥfat al-Mawdūd, ch. 8 §§4 and 7, pp. 134–144 A newborn may be given a kunyah, and a man may take one before he has children or after a child of another name (Abū Bakr, ʿUmar’s Abū Ḥafṣ). On Abū al-Qāsim the scholars differ: forbidden always, forbidden only with the name Muḥammad, or permitted after the Prophet’s ﷺ lifetime.
41. Sunan Abī Dāwūd 4967 ʿAlī: “Messenger of Allah, if a son is born to me after you, may I give him your name and your kunyah?” He said, “Yes.” Grading: ṣaḥīḥ (al-Albānī, Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd 4967).
42. Ibn al-Qayyim, Zād al-Maʿād 2/316–317 “The correct view is that taking his name is permitted, taking his kunyah is prevented, the prevention was stronger in his lifetime, and combining the two is prevented.” He adds that ʿAlī called his permission “a concession for me”.
43. Sunan Abī Dāwūd 4966 “Whoever takes my name should not take my kunyah, and whoever takes my kunyah should not take my name.” Grading: munkar (al-Albānī).
44. Sunan Abī Dāwūd 4948 “You will be called on the Day of Resurrection by your names and your fathers’ names, so make your names good.” Grading: ḍaʿīf: Abū Dāwūd himself said Ibn Abī Zakariyyā did not meet Abū al-Dardāʾ. al-Albānī: ḍaʿīf (Ḍaʿīf Abī Dāwūd 4948; al-Ḍaʿīfah 5460). al-Bayhaqī: mursal. al-Mundhirī: munqaṭiʿ. Shuʿayb al-Arnaʾūṭ: isnād ḍaʿīf. (Ibn al-Qayyim and al-Nawawī had described its chain as ḥasan or jayyid.)
45. California Department of Public Health, All County Letter 25-08, “Diacritical Marks” (12/23/2025) AB 64 (2025) allows diacritical marks on certificates of live birth, from a list of ten marks (acute, grave, circumflex, umlaut, tilde, cedilla, ring, macron, breve, caron). “Starting July 1, 2026, CDPH-VR will begin amending records to include diacritical marks. No earlier than two years after the appropriation of funds, diacritical marks may be included upon registration.”
46. Texas Health and Safety Code §191.009, “Use of Diacritical Marks” (added 2017) “The state registrar shall ensure that a vital statistics record issued under this title properly records any diacritical mark used in a person’s name.” Diacritical marks are defined as accents, tildes, graves, umlauts and cedillas. (Official text: statutes.capitol.texas.gov, HS 191.009.)
47. Rules of the Georgia Department of Public Health, Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 511-1-3-.08, “Child Names on Birth Certificates” “No portion of the child’s name as entered on the birth certificate shall include any number, symbol, or other non-identifying name information.” Parents may also choose a surname that is neither parent’s “in accordance with a bonafide cultural naming convention practiced in the nation of origin of one or both of them.”
48. New York State Department of Health, Vital Records New York State vital records (outside New York City), including corrections and amendments (toll-free 855-322-1022). No published rule on name characters was found.
49. Illinois Department of Public Health, Birth, Death and Other Records Illinois vital records and amendments. No published rule on name characters was found.
50. NYC Department of Health, Birth Certificates “Be careful when you fill out your baby’s full name and your mailing address. Correcting a birth certificate can cost money or even require a trip to court.”

Read next

• Muslim namesSearch names from the Qurʾān, the prophets and the Companions, with meanings and sources.
• The seventh dayThe ʿaqīqah, shaving your baby’s hair and giving its weight in silver, and how to count the seventh day, with each ruling from the four schools’ own books.
• The first hoursThe adhān in your baby’s ear, taḥnīk with a date, the first duʿāʾ, and how to congratulate, with each ruling sourced in the four schools.