[ncturtle]

I have a couple of questions I'm hoping that this smart bunch can help me with. We just got back 2 weeks ago from an amazing trip one. We were referred a 2 1/2 year old boy.
His name is Mikhail. We were given 3 different pronounciations of his name:
Mi Kyle
Mi Kale
Mi Ka Yel

We like Mi Kyle.. but, we're not even sure if he knows his formal name as everyone calls him Misha.

We had planned to keep his first name as Mikhail. We like that name and it is "his". We mentioned that to our translators in Russia as well as our paperwork translator here in the US. We were very surprised at their reaction.

They all recommended that we give him an American name and not keep his Russian name.. Now I know that Michael is the closest "american" name (btw.. what is an "american" name anyway?) but we already have one Michael in the family and to be honest (and I don't mean to offend anyone) Michael is not a favorite name of mine.

I know that the name issue has been addressed many times in the past and there is no "right" answer.. Just looking for opinions..

Thanks in advance for your replies..