geborene

Geborene is a German term used in genealogical and civil records to indicate a woman’s birth name, i.e., her maiden name. It corresponds to the English “née” and the French “née,” and is commonly written in full as “geborene” or abbreviated as “geb.” in documents. The form is primarily encountered in contexts involving name changes through marriage and is not typically used for men.

Geborene appears most often in formal documents, such as civil records, marriage certificates, birth records, obituaries, and genealogical summaries, to link a person’s current surname with their birth surname. A typical usage is: Maria Schmidt, geb. Mayer, meaning Maria Schmidt, born Mayer. This notation helps clarify a person’s naming history for legal, historical, or biographical purposes.

Grammar and usage: “geborene” is the feminine form of the past participle “geboren” used attributively to indicate a birth surname. In everyday writing, the abbreviated form “geb.” is more common, while the full form “geborene” may appear in formal prose or detailed genealogical listings. The construction is mainly found in German-speaking contexts.

See also: Geburtsname, née (naming conventions for birth names), Geburt. Additional references include German language and genealogy dictionaries for guidance on capitalization and abbreviations.