Using née to indicate more than one previous surname for same person?

Question

Can you use the term née twice when referring to someone married three times. For example, "My mother Jill Smith, née Brown, née White ..."

Answer 1

I do not think the term née should ever be used twice in the manner you described in your question.

For someone born to a Brown family, who later married a Green, then a Smith, then a Jones, I would say something like:

My mother Jill Jones, formerly Smith, before that Green, née Brown.

The term née means born, and a person can only be born once.

Answer 2

For registration purposes (in England/Wales) a maiden name does not mean the name a woman is born with, so the terms "née" and "maiden name" are not interchangeable.

In civil registration a maiden name is defined as "the name in which a woman first contracted a marriage". This will often be same as her name at birth, but not always.