View source for Birth name

{{Short description|Name at birth}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{refimprove|date=December 2019}}
[[File:Marilyn Monroe Birth Certificate original (cropped).jpg|alt=Scan of birth certificate of Marilyn Monroe|thumb|The birth certificate of [[Marilyn Monroe]] displays her name at birth: Norma Jeane Mortenson.]] 

The '''birth name''' is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the [[surname]], the [[given name]] or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births register or [[birth certificate]] may by that fact alone become the person's [[legal name]].<ref name="Connexion">{{cite web|url=http://www.connexionfrance.com/france-must-use-womans-maiden-name-correspondence-15398-view-article.html|title=French administration must routinely use woman's maiden name in letters|date=27 January 2014|work=[[The Connexion]]|quote=Laws have existed since the French Revolution stating that 'no citizen can use a first name or surname other than that written on their birth certificate' – but many official organisations address both partners by the husband's surname.|access-date=1 February 2014}}</ref> The assumption in the [[Western world]] is often that the name from birth (or perhaps from [[baptism]] or ''[[brit milah]]'') will persist to adulthood in the normal course of affairs—either throughout life or until marriage. Some possible changes concern [[middle name]]s, [[diminutive]] forms, changes relating to parental status (due to one's parents' [[divorce]] or [[adoption]] by different parents), and changes related to [[gender transition]]. Matters are very different in some cultures in which a birth name is for [[childhood]] only, rather than for life. 

{{anchor|Rogério da Silva Santana|Rogério da Silva Santana}}
== Maiden and married names ==
{{main|Maiden and married names}}
{{Redirect|De domo}}
The terms '''née''' (feminine) and '''né''' (masculine;<!-- bold because the title redirects here --> both pronounced {{IPAc-en|n|eɪ|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Birth name.wav}}; {{ety|fr|né[e]|born}}), [[Glossary of French expressions in English|adopted into English]] from French, have been used to indicate a pre-marital or [[Maiden and married names|maiden name]], or an original birth name that was later changed.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=btb1AwAAQBAJ&q=n%C3%A9e+meaning&pg=PA108|title=New Hart's Rules: The Oxford Style Guide|last=Waddingham|first=Anne|date=2014|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=9780199570027|language=en}}</ref> 

The term ''née'', having [[feminine gender|feminine grammatical gender]], can be used to denote a woman's [[surname]] at birth that has been replaced or changed. In most English-speaking cultures, it is specifically applied to a woman's maiden name after her surname has changed due to [[marriage]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/n%C3%A9e?q=n%C3%A9e|title=née - definition of née in English from the Oxford dictionary}}</ref> The term ''né'', having [[Grammatical gender|masculine grammatical gender]], can be used to denote a man's surname at birth which has subsequently been replaced or changed.<ref name="auto">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-zPKDAAAQBAJ&q=n%C3%A9+and+n%C3%A9e&pg=PT866|title=Fowler's Concise Dictionary of Modern English Usage|last=Butterfield|first=Jeremy|date=10 March 2016|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780191062308|language=en}}</ref> The diacritic marks (the [[acute accent]]) are considered significant to its spelling, and ultimately its meaning, but are sometimes omitted.<ref name="auto"/> According to [[University of Oxford|Oxford University]]'s ''[[A Dictionary of Modern English Usage|Dictionary of Modern English Usage]]'', the terms are typically placed after the current surname (e.g. 'Ann Smith, ''née'' Jones' or 'Adam Smith, ''né'' Jones').<ref name="auto1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2xv4CwAAQBAJ&q=usage+of+n%C3%A9+and+n%C3%A9e&pg=PT2246|title=Garner's Modern English Usage|last=Garner|first=Bryan|date=11 March 2016|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780190491505|language=en}}</ref><ref name="auto"/> Because they are terms adopted into [[English language|English]] from French, they do not have to be [[Italic type|italicized]], but often are.<ref name="auto1"/>

==See also==
*[[Deadnaming]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Human names]]
[[Category:Birth]]