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Synonyms

maiden name

American  

noun

  1. a woman's surname before her marriage.

maiden name British  

noun

  1. a woman's surname before marriage

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of maiden name

First recorded in 1680–90

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The writer’s earlier novels were published under her maiden name, Lizzie Pook.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2026

Van Rootselaar went mostly by Jesse Strang, the maiden name of her mother, Jennifer Strang.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 14, 2026

Until this month, she kept the title Sarah, Duchess of York - but she reverted to her maiden name of Ferguson after Andrew voluntarily gave up the usage of the Duke of York title.

From BBC • Oct. 30, 2025

LB: It's my mum's maiden name, so the English side of the family.

From BBC • Sep. 5, 2025

I’ll go back to my maiden name, sever ties with Tom, make it hard for anyone to find me.

From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.