 Maiden and married names

When a person (traditionally the wife in many cultures) assumes the family name of their spouse, that name replaces the person's previous surname, which in the case of the wife is called the maiden name (birth name is also used as a gender-neutral or masculine substitute for maiden name), whereas a married name is a family name or surname adopted by a person upon marriage.In Scotland it is legal and not unusual for a woman to retain her maiden name after marriage.