Daily Ancestormarraine
Marraine is French for "godmother": the woman who, with the parrain, presented the child for baptism and is named in the entry.
The marraine is the female sponsor at the font, a spiritual mother to the child. A married godmother may be identified through her husband, as in épouse de, and some entries state how she was related to the child.
Because the Council of Trent required the godparents' names, a marraine is one of the most reliable family clues in a French register. Like the parrain, she could not later marry her godchild.
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Daily Ancestor. "marraine." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/french/marraine. Last checked 2026-10-28.