Married and Maiden Names

Married And Maiden Names

A married name is a family name or surname adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of his or her spouse, this name replaces the person's original maiden name or birth name.

The term "birth name" is a synonym for "maiden name," and has been increasingly used in place of it, or interchangeably with it, since the 1970s. Feminists prefer "birth name" as a more accurate label for the name received at birth, compared with maiden name, which has been criticized as being archaic and having sexual double standard implications.

The term "maiden name" is rarely applied to the change of family names by men, or by either sex other than in connection with marriage. "Birth name" is sometimes used specifically as a gender-neutral (or male only) substitute for "maiden name."

In some jurisdictions, changing one's name requires a legal procedure; however, in some jurisdictions, anyone who either marries or divorces may change his or her name if he or she wishes. Due to increasing security and identification needs, even where it is legal, the common law method is rarely accepted anymore except at marriage (especially for women). Traditionally in the Anglophone West, only women do so, but sometimes men change their last names upon marriage as well. In the United States, only seven states have an official name change for a man as part of their marriage process, others may petition a court, or, where not prohibited, use the common law method (though sometimes not recognized by government agencies for men). Due to the widespread tradition of women changing their names at marriage, they encounter little difficulty using the common law method at marriage in those jurisdictions that permit it.