Assalaamu alaykum. I have recently learned that a name can be haram if it means something that goes against Islam. My question is: since one of the meanings of my name is church, is my name halal or haram?

All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

A Muslim should not bear a name indicative of a prohibited meaning, even if it has other meanings that are permissible. It is at least disliked to bear such names. Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd wrote regarding the disliked names, “It is disliked to give a child names whose meanings indicate sins and misdeeds...” [Tasmiyat Al-Mawlood (Naming the Newborn)]

He also said, “Disliked names include Rihaab and ʻAflaq, as each has a bad meaning.”

The name of the brother who asked this question is Kyle. We have come to know that the name Kyle, in American English, means the victorious; however, in Irish, it may mean ‘church’. As long as one of its meanings is ‘church’, he should hasten to change it.

Allah knows best.