> My gg grandparents' marriage certificate lists the bride's > name as Ann > Harvie or Boag. I've found other instances of this in the > Scottish Census. > What is the significance of the second name? Is it a > previous marriage, > mother's name? It depends. Legally, in Scotland a woman's surname does not change when she marries, so if Jean Brown marries John Smith, she will be described in legal and certain other documents either as 'Jean Brown or Smith' or as 'Jean Brown wife/widow/relict of John Smith'. It is merely a convention that she is known informally as 'Jean Smith' However there is another situation, which is when someone is born illegitimate. In such cases they are occasionally described by both their father's and their mother's names. It also sometimes occurs if someone has been adopted by a step-parent. You don't say when and where this marriage took place, so it's impossible to be certain, but a previous marriage is the most likely explanation. In this case the certificate should say that she is widowed (or divorced). Her death certificate should also tell you the names of both her husbands. HTH Anne