A website that I have come across may be helpful in adoption search. It is www.maidenname.net.

This website was conceived as the owner wondered about the women from his past as he recalled long evenings spent in college and realized he never knew how things turned out for them since many of their names change perhaps for some more than one. The site acknowledges under their FAQ section that they have received thank you notes telling of natural families reunited and family histories traced.

For a person to be listed in the database they have to register information into the database in order for their name to show up. Information entered into the databases is information entered by that member and they do not obtain any information from outside sources.

The site can be searched but you must register first which is free. You can enter any name you know the person by and the current name will appear in the search.

The site was mentioned in the USA Today Weekend in a November 2004 edition of the national paper. It stated “At maidenname.net you can find that elusive first boyfriend or girlfriend and post a message, even if he or she has remarried more often than Elizabeth Taylor.”

I think that what the USA Today Weekend was trying to say that today’s world is ever changing and a woman’s last name can change quickly. However, what doesn’t change is the name she was given at birth, her maiden name, her “first” last name.

MaidenName.net goes back to the basics or to the beginning to help you find someone you may have lost touch with. They have created a place for women who have changed their names to join the database.

Searching this database in an adoption search may be a long shot that the person you are searching for has registered; however, it is worth the few minutes it takes to search the database in the event that she has registered. After all, it takes less than 3 minutes to register and search. If she is listed, this could save you hours of researching marriage licenses and/or divorce decrees.