Find a woman's maiden name in historical records
In cultures where women change their last names after marriage, it can be hard to find their birth names. This technique may find that elusive information.
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Step-by-step instructions

Finding a woman’s maiden name can be a little tricky, and there are a few different records that may have her maiden name.

One way is to search for a marriage record, which is demonstrated in another video. Another way is to search for the death record of the spouse or child of the woman. 

For example, you could search the child’s death record:

  1. Enter the name of the woman's child. Click More Options.
  2. Enter the place, and year range of the death of the child. 
  3. Under relationship click mother and enter the woman’s first name. Leave the last name field blank. Under the type click Type and select Death. 
  4. Scroll down and click search. 

Family search populates the results, and you can see a record of death and the mother’s maiden name is on the record. You can view the record or attach it to my family tree by clicking on the record. If the record did not come up, adjust your search and try different combinations of information. 

Thanks for watching!

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