A debutante (French word for "female beginner") is a young lady from a representative family who has reached the age of 18, and as a new adult, is introduced to society at a formal presentation known as her "debut" or "coming out." Originally, it meant the young woman was eligible for marriage, and the tradition arose when noble families started seeking infusions of cash by marriage to wealthy bourgeoisie.
In England, debutantes were presented at court at the start of the social season.
In Australia, debutante balls (or colloqually "deb balls") are more closely associated with girls from a particular high school year level than an actual age. In country towns and rural centres, debutante balls usually are scheduled for girls from Grade 11 (aged 16 - 17), and it is customary for the female to ask a male. To an extent debutates are becoming less common in rural centres but are gaining popularity in the city as a result of being adopted as part of a school event, reserved for Grade 12 students (ages 17 - 18).
Debutante balls exist in nearly every major city in the United States. They are often charity occasions, in which the parents of the young ladies, as well as all attending, must contribute a certain sum of money to the cause at hand. For a list of debutante balls in the United States, see Cotillion.
Cotillions and Debutante Balls (popularly called a 'debut') are very popular in the Philippines and in Filipino communities overseas. The debut begins with a priest giving a blessing before the ball. Eighteen candles are then presented to the debutante by eighteen of her closest girlfriends, and then eighteen roses are presented by eighteen male escorts. Traditionally, the debutante leaves the ball at midnight. Another tradition is that all young males present must drink to each letter of the debutante's name. The debutante tradition in Philippine culture is documented in the film The Debut.
In some U.S. Hispanic communities, a similar event occurs on a girl's fifteenth birthday. It is called a Quinceañera ceremony.
Trivia
In the Monty Python sketch "The Upper Class Twit Of The Year Contest", one of the challenges consists of "Taking the bra off the debs," here represented by a row of shop dummies.