[SingleMama2B]

As many have said... it's your choice. When I adopted my DD, she was alittle over the age of 8 years old. She knew that her adult name was "Anna", but was called, and preferred to be called "Anya". I decided to officially change it to Anya with my dear sweet grandmothers name as her middle name, and of course my last name.

She is very proud of her Russian name, and her Russian Heritage. Granted, at first when she came home, she wanted to fit in, but being home now for 2+ years, she will tell anyone that asks, that she is Russian/American.

You do what you feel it right for your son and your family!

Whie in Court, the judge did make a comment that I kept her russian pet name, and also asked if I would keep some of the Russian traditions... I said yes, and I have

[KimOH]

Originally Posted by ddahl

We kept pur sons Russian middle name as his middle name too. We got some negative commentary from Russians here that know he is adopted. I guess but am not certain that the middle name is commonly the last name of the biological father.

I just wondered what sort of negative comments you've received on moving the birth name to your child's middle name. We did the same thing, and have never had any negative comments.

I have had a few Russian people try to explain to me about "Russian middle names" being formed from the father's name. However, if I say we decided to keep his birth name as an "American-style middle name" and aren't using a patronymic, they are usually satisfied. (When you drop a term like 'patronymic,' I think they at least understand that you knew what you were doing and made an educated choice. )

We've had nothing but positive comments on keeping our kids' birth names as part of their regular names. Of course, both have new Russian-origin first names as well...but they would have had the same names if they had been ours by birth. I guess I just like Russian names.

[ncturtle]

Thanks everyone for your responses. You have all given us a lot to think about!
My husband and I decided that we need to decide this weekend b/c we need to fill out a form with his name. This is the last form (that we know of right this second - always subject to change) we need to do for the second part of our dossier..