Meaning & use
maiden name in parentheses
Last updated
Meanings
phrasefixed phrase
A woman's family name before marriage, written inside brackets after her married name.
Grammar: Used as a noun phrase: 'She wrote her maiden name in parentheses.' The brackets themselves are always plural: parentheses.
Patterns
- write your maiden name in parentheses
- put a maiden name in parentheses
- a maiden name in parentheses after the married name
The author is listed as Jane Smith (née Brown), with her maiden name in parentheses.
On the form, women can show a maiden name in parentheses if they prefer.
Her byline includes her maiden name in parentheses so old colleagues recognize her.
phrasefixed phraseformal
A style of writing a woman's former surname in brackets in official or published names.
Grammar: Often used after 'using', 'with' or 'in the style of': 'using a maiden name in parentheses'.
Patterns
- using a maiden name in parentheses
- the practice of a maiden name in parentheses
- show something with a maiden name in parentheses
The journal allows using a maiden name in parentheses for previously published authors.
Many legal documents still follow the convention of a maiden name in parentheses.
She asked to be credited with her maiden name in parentheses.
Common combinations
- née
- She published under Jane Smith, née Brown.
- birth name
- He uses his birth name on official documents.
- married name
- After the wedding she took her husband's married name.
- in brackets
- Write your former surname in brackets.
- parenthetical name
- The editor added a parenthetical name after the main one.
Synonyms and how they differ
- née
- The standard one-word label placed before a woman's maiden name; it expresses the same idea without brackets.
- birth name
- A broader term for the name given at birth, used for anyone and not only married women.
Opposites
Word family
- parenthesis noun
- One of a pair of curved brackets ( ) used around extra information.
- parenthetical adjective
- Describing words added as extra information inside brackets.
- maiden name noun
- The surname a woman had before she married.
Commonly confused: maiden name in parentheses or parenthesis? maiden name in parentheses or née?
maiden name in parentheses vs parenthesis
'Parenthesis' is one bracket mark or the extra information inside it; 'parentheses' is the plural and the usual word for the pair of marks.
maiden name in parentheses vs née
'Née' is written directly before the maiden name, while this phrase describes the name placed inside brackets.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
The fixed phrase uses the plural 'parentheses' for the bracket marks, so option An is correct. Option B uses the singular for the pair of marks; option C wrongly makes 'maiden name' plural; option D misspells 'parentheses'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “maiden name in parentheses”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.