Is It Permissible to Name Your Child After a Living Person?

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam

Question: Assalam alaykum

Is it permissible to name your child after a living person?

In the Syrian tradition the first born son of the oldest son is named after the paternal grandfather.

Answer: Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,

I haven’t come across a ruling which indicates the dislikedness of naming a child after a living person. Rather, the matter of naming is very expansive, as long as you adhere to some general guidelines which are outlined in the attached answers.

Please also see: Is it Necessary to Change One’s Name after Becoming Muslim? and: Can We Give to Our Baby His Grandfather’s Name as a Surname?

And Allah Most High alone knows best.

[Ustadh] Tabraze Azam

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Tabraze Azam holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Leicester, where he also served as the President of the Islamic Society. He memorised the entire Qur’an in his hometown of Ipswich at the tender age of sixteen, and has since studied the Islamic Sciences in traditional settings in the UK, Jordan and Turkey. He is currently pursuing advanced studies in Jordan, where he is presently based with his family.