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I was reading in a name book (so this could be totally wrong mind you) that when a person converts to Islam, they usually pick a new Arabic/Muslim name. I've seen this in terms of non-Muslim women marrying into Islamic royalty (as in, Queen Noor of Jordan, who was born Lisa) but I'm not sure if it's true in terms of regular people converting.

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But let's say, for fun, that it is true. If you were to choose an Arabic name for yourself, what would you pick? I love choosing hypothetical new names for myself.

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My picks would be:

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Khalilah - for its nice meaning ("friend") and because it starts with the same hard-K sound my current name has
Izdihar - sort of has the same meaning of my current name ("blossoming" - I was under the impression that Chloe meant "blooming, blossoming" for years, not "green shoot", so I still think of it that way.)
Zahra - see above ("blooming flower")
Lujayn - love the sound; it's comfortingly familiar yet friendly and fresh, and it has a pretty meaning ("silver"). I would also favour this for a daughter.
Sharazad - just because that would be awesome. Another daughter-name contender. For awesomeness.
Tabassum /Ibtisam - looks just like what it means: "smiling, smile"
Dalal - for its neat, acnient/futuristic look, though the meaning ("coquettishness") is not really appropriate.
Fizza - fun, energetic "fizzy" look and nice meaning ("silver")
Hala - nice meaning ("halo around the moon")
Rawiya - for its meaning alone ("storyteller"). I'm not hugely fond of the sound though.
Ruqayya - for the meaning ("rise, ascent" and/or "charm, spell")
Sadaf - for the supercute meaning of "seashell"
Shama - very pretty meaning of "lamp, candle, candlelight"

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Anyways, I had way too much fun with that. What would you pick?

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