Genealogy Chat

Does anyone know which name a mother would use on her child's birth registration if she had been married previously? Would she use her maiden name or the name of her first marriage?

Thanks in advance, Lou

Theoretically she should use both i.e. Jane Smith (current name)formally Jones (previous married name) nee Brown.

Though if you were looking for someone who'd had all three of those names, I'd give up now :-)

One of mine showed all three -
Moncar (she was lying 'cos she never married Mr Moncar)

late White ('cos her first husband committed suicide 'cos she was playing about - probably with Moncar)

nee Brewer (which as it turns out is not her real name 'cos her mother was as bad as she was!)


But another one of mine just used her married name - no maiden name, no husband's name ... that really threw me!


So - I would assume that they would show all names but you can never guarantee it!

My mum's birth registration just gives her mother's maiden name as Rowland - technically it should say Rowland or Briggs because Grandma was married to Mr. Briggs before my mum's father.

Very puzzling. I suppose it depends how honest the person registering was - if it was the mother she may not have wanted the second partner to know she had been married before, if the partner he may either have concealed or not known about the previous husband etc.

And I was searching around in someone's family the other day, and found one where it looks like it was done backwards -- the woman married her second husband under her birth surname (when it would ordinarily be her first husband's surname), and then recorded her first husband's surname on the birth certificate of her child with her second husband (when it would ordinarily at least include her birth surname)!

No guarantees. ;)

The simple answer to this is never believe anything that you find on a birth certificate or marriage or death certificate. I have a birth certificate on which mother's maiden name is given as Dufol.Dufol was the name of her second husband while the child in question is that of her third husband. Another birth certificate of a lady who may still be alive gives her mother's maiden name as Tweed.Her parents were not married and her mother was still married to a Mr Tweed.

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for replying and appologies for not responding earlier, had to go out unexpectantl, and this is the first chance to respond.

Very ineteresting and varied replies. I shall endeavour to expect any name and take it from there. Thank you so much for your thoughts and comments. It's been a great learning experience. I'd like to wish each and eveyrone of you good hunting in your own trees. Kind Regards, Lou