Is there any harm in changing an adult dog’s name after adopting them?

I don’t think it makes a difference although it might take a while for the dog to get used to the new name. Think of the fact that most rescue dogs come to shelters without any name at all if they are strays. Frodo was picked up on the streets of Brooklyn and I think the rescue organization had given him a name which I changed to Frodo. It wasn’t a problem for him.

If you know the name s/he was named by, it does make sense to choose something that is similar in sound to what their name was so there is not a steep learning curve.

No. The dog will get used to the name if you use it often enough.

As long as you feed them and take good care of them, the dog doesn’t care what you call them. It might take some time for the dog to learn its new name but it will figure it out. Just be consistent in using the new name.

I think it’s fine. My husband calls me 4 different nicknames and I answer to all of them.

My neighbor got a rescue dog that had no known name.
She started calling Sony, but the dog was unresponsive and stand-offish.
After a few weeks, my neighbor started calling her Suni, and the dog delighted!
I am gessing Suni is close enough to the dogs old name for it to understand.. Maybe it was Suzy or Goonie.

I have experience here. My first rescue was an adult abused Westie. I kept his name and immediately associated it with treats and gentleness, as it was one less change for him to have to deal with.
I have always kept the original names of my adult rescues.

Unless the name is offensive in some way, I would keep it, especially with a senior dog.

Thank you so much. I don’t think we’ll change the name but I was curious. I appreciate the responses.

Bless your heart for caring about what some would say is a trivial matter. I agree with those who say the dog will learn its new name if it’s used frequently and consistently, but I also really like @canidmajor‘s answer and had never considered that angle.

My sister took in an abused, stray dog and called her Rufus, which it generally responded to—but discovered that its original name was Honey—when my sister and brother-in-law were using honey in some recipe. So I think most dogs who HAVE been named always associate that word with themselves—but will adapt to whatever you call them.

Animals don’t usually care what you call them. One might react poorly to a name it associates with an unpleasant event.
I took in a neighbor dog that was name Tony, and I changed it it Toby because of personal preferences.

My dog no longer responds to his original name. We changed his but kept the first 3 letters the same. I read you should try to keep it kind of similar but I am sure they will adjust