Adopting a toddler gril from Guatemala..
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| Wed, 11-08-2006 - 9:49am |
We are adopting a little girl from Guatemala and need help
with a name. We'd like something with a Spanish influence but
not too unusual, ethnic or trendy. I love classic names but don't
want something too popular. Her Gutemalan name is Yahaira Neomi, and
we'll want to keep at least part of that. While Yahaira is a very
pretty name, I've never wanted a name that people have trouble pronouncing
spelling. My first choice is to flip it and name her Naomi Yahaira, but my
DH isn't a big fan of Naomi. Our current children's names are Carly Rose
and Ben David. Following are a few other names we are considering,
but other ideas and opinions would be GREATLy appreciated!
Juliana (DH's favorite - he likes the 'a' endings)
Anna
Andrea (nn Andi)
Olivia (not really spanish)
Marina
Liana (nn Lia or Ana)
Tia (i like this but the "ia" names seem a bit trendy)

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Depending on how old she is, I would probably either ...
a) not change her name at all, if she's old enough to recognize and answer to it. My 20-month old knows her name is Devanie, and also answers to the nn "Evie" -- stemming from not being able to say Devanie yet -- but if I tried to call her Juliana, to use an example from your list, she'd have no idea who I was talking to. Technically, even her more "unusual" fn wouldn't be that big a deal, depending on where you live, because Spanish names are rather common in the U.S. anyway. And if it's just a matter of wanting the opportunity to give her a name you chose for her, you could make it a middle name (even placing it between Yahaira and Naomi if you want to make sure it gets recognized, KWIM?)
b) if you're still concerned about it, flip the order so she has a name that is more familiar/easy to spell and pronounce, like you mentioned wanting (especially since Naomi is a lovely name that fits in with many current trends anyway), although I probably wouldn't do this legally ... I'd just call her by her mn for school purposes, etc. when that might be a concern
c) obviously you can choose to change her name completely, but it's probably a better idea to give her a fn of your choice and keep her current name as two middle names, KWIM? This may be what you intended but I wasn't positive from your wording if you intended to keep both as mns. This way, she gets to keep her identity, assuming she is old enough to know her own name, and she gets a name you chose especially for her.
I actually knew a couple who adopted a little girl (from Peru, I believe) named Eliana. This was her given name ... they didn't change it, because she was at least 5 when they adopted her. Just thought it was worth mentioning since you mentioned liking Liana (a short form of this and Juliana, so all names you seem to like ).
HTH
~Kelli
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Congrats on the adoption!
I love Marina and Juliana.
What do the people who are taking care of her now call her? If she's more than a year old, I would imagine that she responds to some name. If she knows herself by a nick name, maybe you could choose another name that would give the same nn. Like, if she goes by Yaya, that could be a nn for Juliana.
Everything around her will be unfamiliar - it would be nice if she could keep her name. If she's not old enough to know her name it probably wouldn't matter but most toddlers are aleady starting to develop a sense of who they are.
Congrats!
I actually think Yahaira is beautiful.
I like her middle name Neomi. Maybe you could use Namomi. I also love Juliana. I was going to use the name Juliette (french version) if I didnt already have a niece Julia
Good Luck!!
How about Marissa?
Of your names I really only care for Liana (nn Lia) & Tia.
I think I agree with the posters who have suggested keeping her name. I knew a girl in high school who had been adopted from Korea as an older infant (maybe 10 or 11 months?). Her parents named her Kimberly, for Kim, but in high school anyway part of her felt this was not her "real" name. On the other hand, I am sure you have done research on this beyond my one anecdote.
I actually love the name Naomi. If you could sell your dh on it, that would be ideal. I liked the suggestion of seeing what she is commonly called and going with a variation of that. I would at least use her current names as middles names. It might also be nice to use one or more of her current given names and a family name from you as well.
I did like Juliana.
Whatever you decide, COngratulations!!
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