How to find someone by maiden name

When friends lose touch after school, it's often difficult to find that lost friend. The same goes for long-lost family members. The level of difficulty only increases when this friend is a woman because a woman's maiden name is a temporary title. When women get married, they tend to take their husband's name, as is tradition. Such an act, however, only lowers your chance of finding a friend you knew before she married. With technology at its best, it is much easier to find someone by their maiden name.

Locate a woman by her maiden name the old-fashioned way: using a phone book or address book. Even if the name of the friend has changed, the name of her family hasn't. Using the maiden name of the woman you're seeking, a look in a phone book or address book will direct you to her parent's information, or possibly a brother or unmarried sister. This alone increases your chances of finding that long-lost woman. And, it doesn't take more than a few simple phone calls.

Use online resources that allow women to list themselves under both their married and maiden names. These include social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. Build a profile (if you don't already have one) and register yourself under your old school. The site will then locate all of your old classmates within the networking site. The women will be identified with both their married and maiden names.This form of searching for a person is highly recommended because, in most cases, all that's needed is the knowledge of the woman's first name and maiden name, as well as the school she attended. It is also a free search.

Consult the genealogy section in your local library. Genealogists are experts at finding people through public records. They can give you tips on conducting your own search through marriage certificates, birth and death records, as well as military records, wills and much more. Genealogists can show you how to find someone by maiden name. The genealogy search will be more work on your part but a lot less money than hiring an information broker. The only costs you will incur are those required to receive copies of the records.

Hire an information broker. An information broker almost guarantees that a long-lost friend or family member will be found, no matter how many years she's been lost. Information brokers utilise several different databases, including government agencies such as the Department of Social Security and the Public Records Office. Just make sure your information broker is legitimate -- some use this job as an opportunity to swindle people so get references for the broker.