The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 3 letter word NEE
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
N
E
E
More clues leading to the result NEE
- Born in the nude first of all? No!
- Oddly, niece is born
- Name tabs an indicator of first name?
- Born in Cambridge, the Backs
- Born on the Algarve, finally
- Originally called part of engineering
- Born in endless poverty
- Born leaders in New England, evidently
- Originally called on hearing an animal’s cry
- Previously known as Capone, evildoer’s imprisoned
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Previously known as" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case previously known as = nee.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does NEE mean?
NEE adjective- Used when giving the maiden name of a woman.
- Used when giving a former name. Originally known as.
- No, used to express no as a quantity, i.e. not any, like German kein/Dutch geen/French rien. Compare with na.