As you consider whether to entrust your child to adoption, you may be daydreaming about what things would be like if you kept your baby. A very normal part of this process is picking out names.

It makes sense to name your child, even if you do plan to proceed with adoption. After the adoption, the baby gets a new, “amended” birth certificate that effectively erases his or her original identity and makes it appear as if he or she had been physically born to the new parents. The name the new parents choose will go on that document. Your chosen name can go on the original... more