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A "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 word " née" (pronounced as either "nay" or "nee"), from the French for "born", hence Margaret Hilda Thatcher née Roberts.
The term "maiden name" has been disliked by many American feminists since the 1970s. Some prefer the term "birth name", which may also be used for those who changed their name for other reasons. Those who find the traditional term offensive say it demeans woman by labeling them according to their sexual status, " maiden" (being a synonym for " virgin") and being construed as meaning the woman's father and then husband had control over her body and "branded" her with their names to signify that control.
It has become more common, especially for feminist-minded women, to take their husband's name but put it before their birth name—for example "Kate Luyten" marries "John Smith" and becomes "Kate Smith Luyten" or "Kate Smith-Luyten." Sometimes both husband and wife will adopt a hyphenated name consisting of both surnames; this can cause a further dilemma a generation later, when Jane Smith-Luyten marries John Brown-Clarke. Alternatively, some women choose to drop their middle names and shift their old surnames to the middle, then tack their husbands' surnames on the end. This practice is virtually unknown in the United Kingdom, however.
In many EnglishThe English language is a West Germanic language, originating from England. It is the third most common "first" language (native speakers), with around 402 million people in 2002. English has lingua franca status in many parts of the world, due to the mil-speaking countries, it was for a long time the usual practice for a woman to change her name upon marriage unless she was engaged in some profession under her own name, although that was never the law except in a couple of states in the U.S. The American suffragist and abolitionist Lucy StoneLucy Stone. 1840 1860 Lucy Stone ( August_13, 1818 October_18, 1893) was an American suffragette and the wife of abolitionist Henry Brown Blackwell ( 1825- 1909) (the brother of Elizabeth Blackwell). Born in West Brookfield, Massachusetts, Stone was educa ( 18181818 is a common year starting on Thursday. Events February 12 Chile gains its independence from Spain March 11 Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is published March 22 Easter Sunday falls on its earliest possible date. The next time Easter will fall this early:– 1893Events January 1 Japan accepts the Gregorian calendar January 2 Introduction by Webb C. Ball of the General Railroad Timepiece Standards in North America: Railroad chronometers January 13 The Independent Labour Party of the UK has its first meeting. Janua), wife of Henry Brown Blackwell , made a national issue of the practice 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.
Laws respecting married names vary. In areas whose legal systems derive from the English common lawThis 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). The common-law legal system forms a major part of the law of many c—such as the USA, much of CanadaCanada historically the Dominion of Canada is the second-largest, and northernmost, country in the world. It is a decentralized federation of 10 provinces and 3 territories, governed as a constitutional monarchy, and formed in 1867 through an act of Confe, 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 province of Quebec, and the state of Louisiana—however, the default position is for a woman's "legal name" to remain the same throughout life: Women there who wish to change their names legally must usually apply to do so via the same formal procedure as any other citizen who wishes to change a name.
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.
