Maiden names - when and where?

I would love to understand more about when and where maiden names came into useage. All of my ancestors are American and Northern European; at what point in my family tree should I stop using them? Are there any hard-and-fast rules, or at least good guidelines?

Thanks for any assistance!

bumping

Please see

http://www.geni.com/projects/Coalition-for-the-Standardization-of-G...

I hope that will help you.

Oh, my goodness, there's a wealth of information there! Thank you so much, I am really grateful for the link. ;)