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Encyclopedia > Maiden name


A "maiden name" is the family name carried by a woman before any of her marriages. A maiden name may be indicated using the word "née" (pronounced as either "nay" or "nee"), from the French for "born", hence Margaret Hilda Thatcher née Roberts. A married name is a name (if) changed by a married woman. Image File history File links Nuvola_apps_browser. ... A family name, or surname, is the part of a persons name that indicates to what family he or she belongs. ... Image of a woman on the Pioneer plaque sent to outer space. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards and appeal to a wider international audience, this article may require cleanup. ... The French word née (feminine) or né (masculine) (or the English word nee) is still commonly used in some newspapers when mentioning the maiden name of a woman in engagement or wedding announcements. ... The Right Honourable Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925) is a British politician and the first woman Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, a position she held from 1979 to 1990. ...


The term is ambiguous for those who changed their birth name before any marriages; therefore some prefer the term "birth name", which can also be used in the case of a man changing his name upon marriage. Image of a man on the Pioneer plaque sent to interstellar space A man is a male human adult, in contrast to an adult female, which is a woman. ...

Contents


Maiden name marriage customs

Using a husband's surname

In English speaking countries, there is a strong tradition of a woman using her husband's surname after marriage to him, although this was never legally required except in a couple of states in the U.S. All the children of the marriage are then given their father's surname, so that the mother's surname is not used by any of her descendents. Some areas have a custom of using the mother's maiden name as a given name for one of the children. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... A family name, or surname, is that part of a persons name that indicates to what family he or she belongs. ... The Descendents are a punk rock band from southern California, formed in 1978 by guitarist Frank Navetta, bassist Tony Lombardo and drummer Bill Stevenson. ... A given name specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name. ...


This practice means that women inherit their surname from their father, and change it to match their husband's. This has been criticised for a number of reasons: it can be construed as meaning the woman's father and then husband had control over her body and "brand" her with their names to signify that control; and it means that lines of male descent are seen as primary, that a woman has no inherited name tying her to her female ancestors.


The term "maiden name" itself has been criticised by many American feminists since the 1970s. Those who find the traditional term unacceptable and even offensive say it demeans women by labeling them according to their sexual status, "maiden" (being a synonym for "virgin"), and see this as a further sign of a maiden name being used to label a woman as sexual property of a man. Feminism is a social theory and political movement primarily informed and motivated by the experience of women. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... A maiden may refer to: A female virgin. ... In Roman times, Vestal Virgins were strictly celibate or they were punished by death. ...


Using a maiden name after marriage

A minority of women in English speaking countries choose to use their maiden name after marriage in one of a number of ways: either simply continuing to use it as their surname, or using it as part of their name in conjunction with their husband's surname.


Women who keep their own surname after marriage may choose to do so for a number of reasons. Objecting to the use of their husband's name for the feminist reasons above is one such reason, but there are others which may justify keeping their own name. Some women dislike undergoing the extensive difficulties required in a legal name change. This process is expediated somewhat for newly married women in that their marriage certificate in combination with identification using their maiden name is usually sufficient evidence of the change, but the process still requires approaching every contact who uses the old name and asking them to use the new. Other women simply prefer their own surname to that of their husband. Feminism is a social theory and political movement primarily informed and motivated by the experience of women. ...


Since this practice is in the minority, a woman retaining her surname after marriage may encounter difficulties with having people correctly use her name, or in some cases recognising her marriage. Many people who know of the marriage will simply assume that she has the same surname as her husband and will use that name to introduce her and address her. Alternatively, people who are aware that she and her husband have different surnames may not realise that they are married.


Some women may retain use of their own surname under particular circumstances, and use their husband's surname in others. This is particularly common among women who have a professional career in which advancement depends on work associated with their name, such as an academic career. These women do not want to risk having their pre-marriage work no longer associated with them and may use their maiden name as their surname in professional dealings but use their husband's surname in social contexts. The American suffragist and abolitionist Lucy Stone (18181893), wife of Henry Brown Blackwell, made a national issue of the practice of taking a husband's surname as part of her efforts for women's rights in the U.S., and women who choose not to use their husbands' surnames have been called "Lucy Stoners" ever since. Plato is credited with the inception of academia: the body of knowledge, its development and transmission across generations. ... Lucy Stone From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. ... 1818 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1893 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Henry Browne Blackwell (1825 - 1909). ...


In the US and Canada it has become more common for women to take their husband's name but put it after their birth name—for example "Kate Luyten" marries "John Smith" and becomes "Kate Luyten Smith" or "Kate Luyten-Smith." Sometimes both husband and wife will adopt a hyphenated name consisting of both surnames. Some women use their maiden name as a middle name (perhaps dropping their birth middle name) and use their husband's surname as their own. This practice is virtually unknown in the United Kingdom, however. A hyphen ( -, or ‐ ) is a punctuation mark. ...


Most versions of the practice of women having a different surname from their husband are criticised on the basis of the possible effect on the couple's potential children. The practice is criticised as demonstrating insufficient commitment to forming a new family together, and as exposing any children of the marriage to confusion and teasing about their parent's marital status. In addition, the couple face an additional problem about the choice of their own children's surname. Various alternatives are used: Teasing is the act of playfully disturbing another person, either with words or with actions. ...

  • most commonly, children are given the surname of one parent, usually the father's;
  • female children are given the mother's surname, and male children the father's; or
  • children are given the hyphenated surname consisting of their mother's and father's surname.

This last practice is criticised because it defers the difficulty to the next generation, who have the surnames of all four grandparents to combine into a surname for their own children. One solution some couples have used when both spouses had hyphenated last names is for the wife to contribute her mother's name and the husband his father's to form a new hyphenated last name for themselves and their children.


A less common, but growing, alternative is for the married couple to create a new non-hyphenated name. This name may be a combination of letters from both surnames or it may be a new name altogether. This allows any children following on to have the same name and is equal in that both parties must give up their original surname. One possible criticism against this practice is that it makes families harder to trace via genealogy. In many countries, including the United States, a legal record must be filed in order to make this name change, which reduces the level of added difficulty.


Legal status of maiden and married names

Laws respecting married names vary. In areas whose legal systems derive from the English common law—such as the USA, much of Canada, and the UK—a name change usually does not require legal action, because a person can choose to be known by any name (except with intent to defraud); this is why authors, actors, and step-children, as well as married women, can adopt new names without taking any legal action. In many jurisdictions whose legal systems derive from the civil law—such as France, Spain, the Canadian province of Quebec, and the U.S. state of Louisiana—however, the default position is for a woman's "legal name" to remain the same throughout life: Citizens there who wish to change their names legally must usually apply to do so via a formal procedure. This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... Name change is a basic legal act that is recognized in practically all legal systems to allow an individual the opportunity to adopt a name other than the name given by birth, marriage, or adoption. ... Civil law is a codified system of law that sets out a comprehensive system of rules that are applied and interpreted by judges. ... Motto: Je me souviens (French: I remember) Official languages French Capital Quebec City Largest city Montreal Lieutenant-Governor Lise Thibault Premier Jean Charest (PLQ) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 75 24 Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 2nd 1,542,056 km² 11. ... Official language(s) English and French Capital Baton Rouge Largest city New Orleans at last census; probably Baton Rouge since Hurricane Katrina Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 31st 134,382 km² 210 km 610 km 16 29°N to 33°N 89°W to 94°W Population... Legal name is the name with which an individual is registered at birth or which appears on their birth certificate. ...


Legally and commonly, Chinese and Korean women do not, as a tradition, discard their maiden names after marriage. In modern day, some overseas Chinese women, join their husbands' surname, so Miss Huang who married Mr. Li may become Mrs. Li Huang. This double surname practice is not found in China and Korea. Overseas Chinese (華僑 in pinyin: huáqiáo, or 華胞 huábāo, or 僑胞 qiáobāo, or 華裔 huáyì) are ethnic Chinese people who live outside of China. ...


This double surname practice used to be very common in Taiwan. Nowadays, married women in Taiwan tend to use their maiden names alone. Only when a women wants people to know her marital status and her husband would she use the name with her husband's surname appended.


Use of maiden names in genealogy

Most genealogists prefer to refer to a mother by her maiden name when they are constructing a pedigree, whether in chart form such as a family tree or in some written form. This convention is used because it is a concise way of presenting genealogical information. Thus they would write (or show on a pedigree chart) a child as e.g. the son of John Smith and Mary Brown. Genealogy the study and tracing of family pedigrees. ... Example pedigree chart A pedigree chart is a chart which tells you all of the known phenotypes for an organism and its ancestors, most commonly humans, show dogs, and race horses. ...


However, some novices might describe the child as eg the son of John Smith and Mary Smith or perhaps as the son of John Smith and Mary Smith née Brown.


See also


  Results from FactBites:
 
Jamaica Gleaner - Give up the maiden name - Tuesday | March 18, 2003 (1426 words)
When a woman gets married, the reason why she loses her (maiden) name, is because she transfers responsibility from her father to the man (her husband).
When a woman refuses to lose her original name, she is literally saying that she is not completely under that new man. And that is why that man who she is married to, never feels that he completely has responsibility nor does he feel obligated in most cases to take responsibility for that woman.
The fact that she has two names, that is hyphenated names in most instances, communicates to him that she does not completely give herself to him.
Maiden name (227 words)
In popular usage, "maiden name" is the family name previously carried by a woman who is now married and uses her husband's name.
A maiden name may be indicated using the French term "née" (pronounced as either "nay" or "nee"), which literally translates as "born", hence Margaret Hilda Thatcher née Roberts.
The term "maiden name" has been anathema to American feminists since the 1970s -- the politically correct term is now "birth name", which may also be used of those who have changed their name for any other reason.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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