Deadnaming is the act of calling a transgender or non-binary person by their birth name or other former forename (their 'deadname') after they have chosen a new name. Many transgender people change names as part of gender transition, and wish for their former name to be kept private.
It also refers to the practice of families of origin renaming deceased trans people improperly.
Deadnaming is considered offensive and potentially harmful, as it misgenders its subject and may out them as transgender. This can be done to intentionally deny or invalidate a person's gender identity. In other cases, a speaker who is still adjusting to a new name may do so accidentally.
Trans people often face legal and bureaucratic obstacles in changing their names. Published authors and media figures who have later transitioned may be troubled by the appearance of their former name in metadata records, which can be difficult to change. Some organizations have implemented policies to standardize the use of preferred names instead of legal names, or formally ban the practice of deadnaming.
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