nées

nées is the feminine plural form of the past participle né, from the French verb naître (to be born). It agrees in gender and number with feminine plural subjects or nouns and is used in two main ways: as a grammatical marker of birth and as a biographical indicator of a woman’s birth name. The masculine forms are né (singular), nés (masculine plural), and the feminine singular is née.

In ordinary French, née or née(s) appears in phrases describing birth or origin. For example, elles sont nées en 1990 (they were born in 1990, referring to women) or les femmes nées à Paris (the women born in Paris). The feminine plural form, nées, is used when the subject is feminine and plural. If only one woman is involved, the feminine singular née is used: Marie Curie, née Maria Skłodowska.

In biographical and genealogical writing, née is commonly used to indicate a woman’s birth name, especially when she later used a different surname, typically a married name. The standard construction is X, née Y, where X is the person’s current or recognized name and Y is the name at birth. The plural form é nées is used when listing multiple women or referring to a feminine plural group: les auteures nées en 1985 (the female authors born in 1985).

Notes on usage: né/née/nés/nées are agreement-based forms tied to gender and number. They are not themselves proper nouns but grammatical markers; correct spelling and punctuation depend on the gender and plurality of the subject.