Birth name
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A birth name is the name of a person given when they are born. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the full name. Where births are officially registered, the full birth name ent
The birth certificate of Marilyn Monroe displays her birth name: Norma Jeane Mortenson.
Coverture
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Coverture was a legal doctrine in English common law under which a married woman's legal existence was considered to be merged with that of her husband. Upon marriage, she had no independent legal exi
Birth name
…surname 'Jones' and current surname 'Smith'. Because these terms were adopted into English from French, they do not have to be italicized, but often are. Coverture Deadnaming…
Portrait of an English married couple, circa 1780
Early feminist historian Mary Ritter Beard
Writer, lawyer, women's rights advocate, and early coverture opponent, John Neal