née

or nee

[ ney ]

adjective

1. formerly known as (used following the person’s current or recognized name to introduce a previous, usually feminine, name):

   Jackie Kennedy Onassis, née Bouvier.

née

/ neɪ /

adjective

1. indicating the maiden name of a married woman

   Mrs Bloggs née Blandish

Gender Note

Née has long been used in English, as in French, to pair a woman’s married name with her maiden name. Since women are more likely to change their names in adulthood, the feminine-inflected form of this French word, spelled with a second letter e, is the one most widely used and recognized. While in French a man’s original name would be noted with the masculine form né , some English speakers are only familiar with the form née. It is not uncommon to see this feminine form used for masculine names, or inanimate objects: the Tennessee Titans, née the Houston Oilers. On the other hand, because English has no gender inflection, it is normal for borrowed words to lose gender markings, so the masculine form né is also sometimes seen modifying a woman’s name: Marilyn Monroe, né Norma Jean Mortensen.

Word History and Origins

Origin of née¹

First recorded in 1750–60; from French née, feminine of né (past participle of naître “to be born”), ultimately derived from Latin nātus; nascent

Word History and Origins

Origin of née¹

C19: from French: past participle (fem) of naître to be born, from Latin nascī

Example Sentences

But she can’t resist doing the same when talking about Sofia Gigante, née Falcone, her crime-boss villain in HBO’s “The Penguin.”

From Los Angeles Times

Mrs Vance - née Chilukuri, the child of Indian immigrants - was born and raised in the suburbs of San Diego, California.

From BBC

After rejoining forces with the junta, the militia on Tuesday helped to free trapped regime soldiers and retake their battalion’s base on the edge of town, where they raised Myanmar’s national flag, said Padoh Saw Taw Nee, the spokesman for the Karen National Union, a political leadership body.

From New York Times

“In light of this critical situation and to avoid falling into the enemy’s trap, we must temporarily withdraw our Karen National Liberation Army joint forces from Myawaddy,” Mr. Saw Taw Nee said in an interview.

From New York Times

But faced with frequent ambushes and assaults by guerrilla fighters along the highway, the convoy still had not reached Myawaddy 12 days later, Mr. Saw Taw Nee said.

From New York Times