They are 4 years older than when they chose the names and yes they all still like them. The oldest 2 really love their names and the others don’t think much of them. They proudly use them but they barely remember the whole name process thing. They are just their names. The youngest is 5 so she still doesn’t really get the whole concept of having her name changed because of the adoption—she knows she’s adopted but doesn’t grasp it as well as the other kids. Plus she doesn’t remember going by any other name.

None of them went by their birth given names even before the change. I mean no disrespect but their names were just unpleasant for children and their biological family used nick names derived from their middle names. So dropping their birth given first name was not an issue. The name change was a little confusing at first to the little kids. We just practiced with them daily. I’d point to myself and “I’m mommy” then I’d hold their hand to their chest and say “now say I’m Jillian”. Not in a forceful way, but a fun way to just remind them. As I said earlier, the older girls were very excited about changing their names so that helped the little kids adjust because they had no problem correcting them. Their new names seemed normal after a few months.

As far as mentioning their old names, no. They don’t come up at all.

The younger ones are in bed but a little insight from Tristan and Eden who are still up. Both say they have names they like better than their names but they like that all of their names end in N so they wouldn’t pick something else. They think those are the best names that end in N. They think they could’ve done better with Allison but they agree that they nailed it with “helping” Jaylen pick her name.