Sometimes birth parents and adoptive parents co-name a child. So really, we gave her a name, as opposed to changing it. ANSWER: Yes, a cat you can rename. In this video, I discuss the choices we made when we were faced with them with each adoption. You can rename a child of ANY age, not just newborn. For a baby, sometimes the courts will let you and sometimes not, I've heard it before where they wouldn't let the parents rename a baby girl because they wanted her to keep her identity. Well, we adopted 3 children, and we kept 2 of their names, and changed one. I believe there is a degree of claiming that happens upon naming your child, therefore there are some benefits. What would that age be? Whether you should change the name of your adopted foster child can be a hard decision. To change the surname of your adopted child to your family surname, the adoption certificate is sufficient documentary evidence — you do not need a deed poll.. I would love to know what decision you made or that someone made for you. In our case social workers urged us to keep her connection to her birth name. If you're adopting a baby, they may or may not have been given a name - but either way, the adoptive parents can pick their own name if they want. The thing is, unlike dogs, cats very rarely listen to and obey commands, so you can call the cat anything you want. She was only 3 months old when she came home. So she hadnt officially even been given a name. I personally wouldn't change the name of an older child, except for reasons of child protection, because it would already have become part of their identity, but I would rename a baby. If you adopted a child and didn't like their name/it didn't fit with your biological children's names/didn't go with your surname would you opt to give them a new name? by Lisa Milbrand. my name was changed after adoption but I was only a baby, I think by 3 months she will know her own name and associate herself with it agree with the others, use Rosie or Rose - she will make it her own and you'll forget any associations you've ever had with that name other than your lovely little girl all the very best to you Would it only be acceptable up to a certain age where they had little to no recognition of their own name? A dog, probably a bad idea, unless the dog came into the shelter without a name, and only had the name the shelter gave it for a short while. Our readers share what they considered when making the decision to rename or keep their child's birth name. Many of my friends who have adopted children internationally choose to give their children an American first name and keep the child’s original first name as the child’s middle name. Some children who have been adopted feel like their entire original identity has been removed from them when their name is changed. So it’s important to consider the big picture when making such a … TAGS: Adoption Trends, Birth Culture, Birth Family, Birth Fathers, Birth Mothers, Talking with Kids About Adoption. They felt she would need that tie to feel connected later in life. If the adopted child is old enough to understand, and they want a true "clean slate" with a new name, then it can be changed. Advice on adopting a child. You can also just change, or add, another name to theirs if you want. When you adopt you go to a court case and the child's surname would be officially changed to yours, when the child is older they can choose any name they like. 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