In an open adoption, who chooses the child’s name? As in everything, naming the child is unique to each situation. Our panel of birth mothers discusses their individual experiences. Most share the typical girl-dream of carrying their children’s names for years. Each of these birth mothers called their child by a specific name even before birth. But when it came time to place a name on the birth certificate, the children of these birth mothers were named by their parents. Some were asked for input, and felt it such an honor to participate. All of these women felt that naming the child was a gift that belonged to his/her parents.