maiden name

\ˈmeɪ.dən ˌneɪm\

/\ˈmeɪ.dən ˌneɪm\/ noun

The verdict

“maiden name” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) — Nom de jeune fille.

Key facts for maiden name
PropertyValue
Headwordmaiden name
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ˈmeɪ.dən ˌneɪm\
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “maiden name” sits in French frequency

maiden name falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for maiden name is 11 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ˈmeɪ.dən ˌneɪm\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Nom de jeune fille.".

No misspelling variants are generated for maiden name in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct French form is maiden name, spelled M-A-I-D-E-N- -N-A-M-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Nom de jeune fille.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Cite this page

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY-SA). Copy the citation:

PlainSpell, “maiden name, French word data” (May 6, 2026). Derived from Wiktionary (kaikki.org, CC BY-SA) and an open word-frequency list. https://plainspell.com/fr/mot/maiden-name

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "maiden name"?
"maiden name" is spelled M-A-I-D-E-N- -N-A-M-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈmeɪ.dən ˌneɪm\.
What does "maiden name" mean?
As a noun, "maiden name" means: Nom de jeune fille.
How do you pronounce "maiden name"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "maiden name" is \ˈmeɪ.dən ˌneɪm\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "maiden name" come from?
"maiden name" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “maiden name”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is M-A-I-D-E-N- -N-A-M-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ˈmeɪ.dən ˌneɪm\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Nearby French words

Other entries that begin with the letter M in our French index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list