Why Did Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Change His Name, and What Does the Moniker Mean?

Former basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is so famous that his name is one of the first that comes to mind when talking about the sport. However, the athlete didn't always go by that moniker.

Rather, Kareem had an entirely different name on his birth certificate, which he had changed as an adult. See what his name was, what it means now, and why he underwent the change.

Born April 16, 1947, Kareem was originally named Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr., and went simply by Lew Alcindor when he started playing basketball. However, he changed his name in 1971, at the age of 24, and has gone by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ever since.

Kareem explained that he had converted to Islam from Catholicism and wanted a Muslim name to match his new faith. Fittingly, Kareem's name change came just one day after winning his first NBA championship with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Like most people who change their names later in life, Kareem opted for personal significance over something that rolls off the tongue. Kareem translates to "noble and generous," Abdul means "servant of," and Jabbar in English is "powerful" or "the Almighty." Therefore, Kareem's name means "noble and generous servant of the powerful/Almighty," essentially serving as a declaration that he's dedicating himself to Allah.

According to Wikipedia, Kareem has explained his name change by saying, "My family was brought to America by a French planter named Alcindor, who came here from Trinidad in the 18th century. My people were Yoruba, and their culture survived slavery. ... My father found out about that when I was a kid, and it gave me all I needed to know that I was somebody, even if nobody else knew about it."

Unfortunately, there was someone out there with a similar name to Kareem's new moniker, creating confusion between the two athletes. Miami Dolphins running back Karim Abdul-Jabbar was given the name Sharmon Shah at birth. However, like Kareem, he changed his name as an adult.

According to Kareem, the two athletes' names were too similar to be a coincidence, and Karim was trying to profit off of Kareem's moniker. Specifically, the "Abdul-Jabbar" part of the name was the point of contention, as their first names were deemed different enough not to be an issue. Making matters even worse was the fact that both men had the same jersey numbers of 33, and both athletes had attended UCLA.

The issue was so confusing that many sports commentators got Kareem and Karim mixed up, and many people mistakenly believed that the football player was the basketball player's son, as Kareem has a child with the same name. That said, it is worth noting that Karim did not choose his new name himself. Rather, it was given to him by his Imam.

In the end, the men reached a settlement in 1998. Karim had to change his name again, this time to Abdul-Karim al-Jabbar. Furthermore, he had to change his jersey nameplate to "Abdul" instead of its previous "Abdul-Jabbar," for the remainder of his time with the Miami Dolphins.