We have news! They found a little girl for us to adopt! shes 3months now. we just want to know about he name?

Doodlestuff

I would pick a different African name unless the name chosen was by an actual African caregiver. Ask someone when you are there for a strong name.

Randy

Isayana

123456789

Personally, I think Ruby Ayanna is cute (Ayanna as the middle name). I have a small cousin called Ruby and it really is cute.

getitright

Africa is not a shopping mall for people to buy new kids. If you want to make a difference - donate money and pressure our politicians to do more to help tackle debt, poverty, and disease that is unfortunately, rampant in Africa.

Francis

i like ayanah

my fav is ilyena tho

7rin

Keep the name you bought her with. There's absolutely no good reason to add any other names.

Spotty-Dotty

Congratulations.
This is completely up to you..She's 3 months so she's probably not fully aware of her name. Either use that name as her name or middle name or pick your favorite name for her first name but use Ayanna as her middle name. It's up to YOU and your husband.

Kalee W

I am an adult adopted at the age of 5 mos. My parents kept my given name (I think it was just what my foster family called me) as my middle name, but said part of their bonding process was to be able to name me just as they would their own flesh and blood baby. Makes sense to me and as an adult I think its neat to have a name from both "before and after" my adoption. In any sense, congratulations and enjoy your new baby. I hope all goes well for your family!

Tonia

Ayanna is still her "first" name (the name on her records already)... so I'd keep it anyway. It's really a pretty name!

How about the name: Ayanna Sade?

Anyway, congratualtions!

ETA:
"Africa is not a shopping mall for people to buy new kids. If you want to make a difference - donate money and pressure our politicians to do more to help tackle debt, poverty, and disease that is unfortunately, rampant in Africa."

I don't remember her saying she wanted to "make a difference." She obviously just wanted to be an adoptive parent. So, step down off that soap box... there you go.... bah-bye now.

Pip

As you bought a child from Ethiopia why not either keep the name or choose another Ethiopian name .... I'd have more respect for you if you had sponsored this baby girl so she could stay in her country of origin, retain her language and culture but was helped to have an education when she is old enough and to be well cared for.

jayne

I think Ayanna is beautiful. By the time you get her she will be older and know her name. I think you should keep her name. Good luck and congratuylations on your new baby girl.

Emily S

i like it i'd keep it

sunshines

Congrats!! I would give it to her as her middle name. But maybe hold on until you get her, just in case there is a name that totally suits her, like after you meet her you know? You should find out what Ayanna means..it could mean something in Africa..
Congrats though!!

Stop the Hate Love instead

I would keep her that as her first name because itâ€™s a nice name. I just looked it up it means Beautiful blossom thatâ€™s real sweet she will blossom under your care and love. Where as she would likely have wilted had she stayed in the orphanage and been forced to grow up there. You can pick out a middle name for her.

Bless you and your family for adopting this child in need.

Mz.CollegeLife

Ayanna is a very pretty name just leave her with that name and give her a middle name and ur last name...I would say
Ayanna Candace
Ayanna Nicole
Ayanna Jasmine
Also in African it means Beautiful (blossom)

Serenity71

Its still the name she has now. I think its a beautiful name! Ayanna...has a feel thats very feminine.

Ayanna Jade. Rolls off the tongue smoothy doesn't it....

I(Brookelyn just sounds like a place and really isn't as pretty or flows as well.)

You're choice in the end.

To the people who are saying "bought" they didn't buy her, paying fee's for paperwork etc is something people do even when they give birth, so its not buying. (She's not a slave, last I recall...thats illegal.) You don't know this person or their values, or anything to pass judgements.

All the best!

Erin L

Keep the name. It is beautiful, and it is HERS. :))

mapleleaf2

Two things you should consider when thinking of adopting from Ethiopia:

1) That children in "orphanages" in Ethiopia are often there under temporary care, as the parents have no other options while they try to find the resources to raise their babies. Financial coercion (poverty) plays a huge role in why parents are forced to surrender their babies against their will (death and/or starvation are *not* viable choices for any parent). Do you really want to adopt a child whose parent is being forced to surrender that child, when a very small fraction of what you are paying for that child would enable those parents to keep their baby and not suffer incredibly and resolvable grief, PTSD, severe depression, and other consequences of losing a baby to adoption?

2) Why not meet the natural parents yourself and learn their story first-hand? Why not find out from them what her name is, and why they are surrendering her for adoption? The story you get from them is part of that child's history. Finding them now and making contact with them will enable your daughter to maintain ties with them as she grows up, for both you and she to be able to contact them if you so choose. The orphanage, someone working there, more than likely has their contact information. And don't buy the story that she was "left on their doorstep." Very rarely does this happen.

Why not try

Rationality is lost

I think its beautiful really. I think you should just keep it like it is. Whether you use it first or second you can still call her by it.

Jennifer L

Keep the name she has. By the time the adoption is finalized and you can go to Ethiopia to meet her, she will probably be very accustomed to the name. It doesn't take babies long to learn their names.

I also agree with redbook that you should try to meet her biological parents in-country. It is possible. We adoped from Africa (not Ethiopia) and met our children's biological family. We heard their story from them.

ETA: This is a pet peeve of mine, but Africa is a continent, not a country. Just because a child has an "African" name doesn't mean it is one specific to their country of origin. The overgeneralization of Africa as one big place where everyone has the same customs, languages, physical appearances, etc, just annoys me.

Rosie

It doesn't really matter to her at this point, but when she is older, it will mean a lot to her that you kept her first name.

She will want to know everything about her original family, so gather up and keep as much of it as you can find out, to share with her later.

Of course the joke would be on you, if it was Ethiopian for 'smelly britches'

heh heh.

Cam

Ayanna is a beautiful name. If that's the name she's being called then I would keep it. That gives something from her past that will have meaning as she gets older.

Kayla

I say keep it. regardless of who gave it too her its a name that's been with her and as well its an African name. It will something that connects her to her roots and I think the name is just beautiful.
But do what you think is right. It would also be a suitable middle name as well.
I am half Panamanian and my mother decided to connect me to my roots by giving me a Hispanic middle name and I feel it connects me. So first name or middle name I think it will be just fine as it is beautiful and an African name.

Unused account

Just keep the name Ayanna and give her your last name.
Congratulations! =)

kims

I thought one of the good things about Ethiopian adoption as opposed to other countries is that you get real information about the children's families. In Ethiopia it's legal for people to relinquish their children so they don't have to abandon them as in some other countries. Usually that means you get their name and information about the whole family. So if this baby wasn't named by her mother, maybe you could use her mother's name as a first name and Ayanna as a middle name? Or since in Ethiopia the children usually take the father's first name as their surname you could use Ayanna as the first name and her father's name as the middle name.

kangaroo

Ayanna is a beautiful name. Even if her first parents did not give her the name, it is still part of this little one's history. Her orphanage caregivers are significant to her too, in her early months, and they surely love her too. I would find out as much as possible about the origins of the name, and how it was given to her, so that she can have that little piece of her early history. Her life began in Ethiopia, not with her adoption, and using Ayanna as a FIRST name that everyone uses is a way of honoring her past.
Congratulations, btw!

Lady Rowan

Keep it. It's all she has of her past. And its a very nice name.:-)

Alicia

I think you should keep her name as a first name. It's lovely and it will have meaning for her as she grows older even though it's not the name her birthparents gave her. My husband and I are adopting a little girl from Nepal (we've had her since she was 1 month old and she's now 14 months old), and we've kept her first name as the one her birth parents gave her. Even if she had come from an orphanage, we would've kept the name she came with because that's her name and it wouldn't have been fair for us to change it after she had already been called that. I think it's a bit unfair when Anglo adoptive parents give non-Anglo kids Anglo first names when the name the child came with was already pronounceable and significant in the child's life (yes, I understand why parents of, say, Chinese children change their child's first name to an Anglo one because most people, try as the might, massacre Chinese when it's spoken; however, I think it's best for the child if it's something that sounds similar to the name they are familiar with). Our daughter has a family name (Anglo-name) for a middle name, and if at some point she wants to go by that, she can, but unless that happens, her name is Abhinseha. Honestly, I can tell you we're so glad that we've kept her original name, even though it took some practice in learning to pronounce it.

Congratulations on your adoption!

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