My sister's son whose age is about 3 years is a very aggressive child. He is always weeping and shouting. His name is "ARHAM". Some people say that this name is not a valid name and his aggressive attitude ID due to the name. Is it possible that a name of a child has a bad effect on his personality or life?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.

First of all, it should be noted that it could be normal for a child to behave in this manner, so one should not worry about this. It might be that his behaviour is a reaction to some conducts from his parents or others towards him. This might be as well due to viewing some films and other things which may have an effect on his behaviour, so one should be careful about this.

As regards the name Arham, it does not appear to have any religious prohibitions, so it is permissible to name a child with this name. However, a name may have an effect on the person either positively or negatively according to the meaning of the name. Such a name [Arham] is expected to have a positive effect on this child and he will be merciful (as the meaning of the Arabic word Arham is being more merciful), but we do not think that this name will have a negative effect on him.

Finally, it should be noted that it is more appropriate for a Muslim to choose good names for his children, like the names of the Prophets, companions, and other names which mean being a slave or servant to Allaah, like 'Abdullaah and 'Abdur-Rahmaan, and names which mean having a high determination like Haarith, Hammaam and the like.

For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 85202.

Allaah Knows best.