Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
Maiden name
English answer:
(legal) name before marriage
Added to glossary by
wonita (X)
Nov 25, 2008 10:20
15 yrs ago
172 viewers *
English term
Maiden name
English
Social Sciences
Certificates, Diplomas, Licenses, CVs
It appears in the certificate.
The person is a man. Do you really say "Maiden name" in his case?
The person is a man. Do you really say "Maiden name" in his case?
Responses
| 3 +6 | (legal) name before marriage |
William [Bill] Gray
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| 3 +3 | See explanation below... |
Tony M
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Responses
+6
11 mins
William [Bill] Gray
Norway
Norway
Native in English
&
English
Works in field
Norway
Working with words
Native in: English 
Works in: English, Norwegian to English, Danish to English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
Selected
(legal) name before marriage
This appears to be used.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Tania McConaghy
: perhaps surname before marriage
4 mins
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Thank you!
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| agree |
inmb
: well, correct + politically correct!
11 mins
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Thank you!
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| agree |
Siegfried Armbruster
18 mins
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Thank you!
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| neutral |
Attila Piróth
: "legal name before maggiage" is a good solution - but can "maiden name" be really used for men? Shouldn't "birth name" (or your solution) be used in that case?
27 mins
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I agree with you Attila, that the original is indeed a misuse of the language of maidenhood, but I have always felt the same about "maiden voyage" (although the explanation is always that ships are female in English, though not so in other languages!).
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| agree |
Tony M
: Sounds like a good non-gender-specific solution!
2 hrs
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Thanks, Tony!
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| agree |
Caroline Moreno
7 hrs
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| agree |
Paula Vaz-Carreiro
1 day 20 mins
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "thanks"
+3
7 mins
See explanation below...
It is pretty rare for a man to take the wife's name, so I don't really think this has been put there especially for that purpose.
Surely this is just a label that is normally there for when the form is used for a woman, and is normally left blank for a man?
Surely this is just a label that is normally there for when the form is used for a woman, and is normally left blank for a man?
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Attila Piróth
: Yes, most probably the form is the same for men and women.
2 mins
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Thanks, Attila!
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| agree |
kmtext
3 mins
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Thanks, KMT!
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| neutral |
William [Bill] Gray
: Tony, while it IS still quite unusual, it happens regularly here in Norway, where an old family name is in danger of dying out. There is no modern reason why it should not occur!
7 mins
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Thanks, Bill! Sure — but this would appear to be an English doc, not a Norwegian one...
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| disagree |
Tania McConaghy
: In Sweden it is not uncommon for men to take a new surname upon marriage!!! Perhaps Nordic countries are pioneers of this concept
8 mins
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Undoubtedly, Tania! But that doesn't alter the fact that this is an English doc, so we're not talking about Sweden here...
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| agree |
Marie Scarano
14 mins
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Thanks, Marie!
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| agree |
Gary D
: I think as it is in English!! and not Norway or Sweden I would say the document is not gender specific.
2 hrs
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Thanks, Gary! Many old forms have still not been 'politically-corrected' to take account of more recent cultural trends...
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Discussion