What is the definition and meaning of the term mother's maiden name?
Since traditionally most women have changed their surnames to their husband's when they got married, a maiden name is a woman's surname before she is married, usually her father's surname, or her mother's if her parents weren't married.
Should I use my mother's maiden name as a security question?
Banks and other institutions used to commonly use a customer's mother's maiden name as an additional security question but this practise is not recommended now that information like this is so easy to obtain.
How are maiden names used in family history?
If you want to trace a female ancestor, it helps to know her maiden name as this allows you to trace her before your marriage and trace previous generations in her family tree.
Does the mother's maiden name appear on a birth certificate?
Birth certificates for all of the UK include the mother's maiden name. In the printed indexes that are used by most family history websites to create their birth indexes, the mother's maiden name is not included until 1911. However, the General Register Office has an index on its website for English and Welsh births that includes the mother's maiden name on birth records from 1837 to 1934. If you're searching for a child's birth record and you know their mother's maiden name, this can help you decide which record is the right one if you have more than one of the same name.
Do maiden names appear on marriage certificates in England and Wales?
Marriage certificates for England and Wales do not necessarily include a woman's maiden name. The bride supplies her name at the time of marriage, but this will only be her maiden name if it is her first marriage. If it is her second or later marriage, then she should supply her previous married name. You may be able to work out what her maiden name is by the name of her father which is usually supplied, unless the father was unknown. Sometimes the father on a marriage certificate will be a stepfather and in which case he will not have the same surname as the bride's maiden name.
Do maiden names appear on marriage certificates in Scotland?
In Scotland, the bride usually supplies her maiden name even if she was previously married. Scottish marriage certificates also include the maiden surname of both the groom's and the bride's mother. In Scottish records many married women continue to be recorded by their maiden name.
