2 Answers

A maiden name is the last name used by a woman before changing her name upon marriage. Some people prefer to use the term “birth name.” As a general rule, a woman's maiden name is her father's last name, reflecting the patrilineal system of descent which dominates many cultures.

If a woman is born with the name “Jane Smith” and she chooses to marry “John Jones,” she might choose to change her last name to Jones, becoming “Jane Jones.” In this scenario, “Smith” would be Jane's maiden name. Some women prefer to keep their maiden names, either using the maiden name alone or hyphenating their last names, becoming “Jane Smith-Jones” in the example above.

The practice of changing one's name after marriage is controversial among some groups. Some people feel that it is patriarchal, linking the name change with an identification of a woman as man's property, in a sense. Others feel that it simply undermines a woman's personal identity, rejecting her own lengthy family history. For professional women especially, keeping a maiden name may be a matter of career advancement, especially if they became well-known before marriage.

Read more about maiden names here>>http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-a-maiden-name.htm

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