Nom de Jeune Fille
nom de jeune fille
The French term for a woman's maiden name — her nom de famille at birth — which remains her legal surname throughout her life regardless of marriage under French law.
The nom de jeune fille (literally 'girl's name' or maiden name) refers to the nom de famille a French woman bears at birth, which remains her permanent legal surname under French law. Unlike the British or American tradition where women have historically changed their surname upon marriage, French law has since 1975 explicitly prohibited the loss of a woman's birth surname through marriage. A married French woman's legal identity is always her nom de naissance (birth name), even if she uses her husband's name as a nom d'usage in daily life.
Legal Identity and Practical Use
This distinction between legal identity and social usage creates a dual naming reality for many French women. On official documents — tax returns, social security records, legal contracts — a married French woman appears under her nom de jeune fille. On her carte nationale d'identité and passport, both names appear: the nom de naissance is listed first, with the nom d'usage shown separately. In professional contexts, many French women use their nom d'usage; in legal and medical contexts, the nom de jeune fille governs.
Changing Attitudes and Language
The term 'nom de jeune fille' has itself become subject to feminist critique in France. The expression implies that the birth name belongs only to one's girlhood, to be set aside with adulthood and marriage. French feminist advocates and language authorities increasingly prefer 'nom de naissance' (birth name) as a gender-neutral and legally accurate alternative. The Académie française and official style guides have progressively adopted this terminology shift, though 'nom de jeune fille' remains widely used in everyday French speech.