Something to consider when going through the adoption process is the name issue. Many of us adopt babies who have not been given a name, so the choice is relatively easy - we choose the name, end of story. Then it gets slightly more complex if the baby or child already has a name - do we keep the name? Do we make it a middle name? Do we change it altogether? Much of what I have read suggests that if the baby or child already has a name then one should make an effort to keep the name as much as possible - keeping the name shows that you are accepting of who they are and their heritage before they became part of your family. On the other hand, if it's a name you really can't or don't want to use, or maybe even can't pronounce, it's not a bad idea to make it a middle name and choose something else for a first name.

Most Jewish families also choose to give their child a Hebrew name. When my mother was growing up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, it was the custom to give both a Yiddish name and a Hebrew name - which I personally think is cool being a fan of the Yiddish language. But mostly today people just give Hebrew names.

I think it's especially important for people to be able to choose their child's Hebrew name - especially if they missed out on the opportunity to pick their English name. Sometimes people make the Hebrew name correlate with the English name (example: English: Rebecca, Hebrew: Rivkah) and sometimes you'll get names that aren't related at all. I'll post a bit later with some good resources on finding the perfect Hebrew name for your child, and a bit on the background of why we have this tradition.