Why the act of using a former name is more than just a mistake

History · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Deadnaming is the practice of referring to a transgender person by a name they have rejected. While often dismissed as a minor error, it is frequently viewed as a form of aggression that denies a person's identity, risks outing them, and serves as a barrier to their full social acceptance.

The term deadname emerged in the 2010s, with the Oxford English Dictionary documenting its use on Twitter by 2010 and the term deadnaming by 2013. It describes the use of a birth name that a person no longer identifies with following a transition. Activists argue that this practice is not merely a linguistic slip but a way to invalidate a person's gender identity, often contributing to broader transphobia.

For many, the struggle to remove a deadname from public record is a significant administrative and emotional burden. Academic researchers, for instance, often find it nearly impossible to scrub their former names from published metadata. Theresa Tanenbaum, a researcher at the University of California, faced widespread refusal from publishers when attempting to update 83 of her publications. While some institutions, such as the Berkeley Lab in 2021, have begun simplifying these processes, many platforms remain resistant to change.

The conflict often plays out on digital platforms and in media. In 2019, IMDb faced backlash from organizations like GLAAD and SAG-AFTRA for refusing to remove birth names, eventually adopting a compromise that many advocates still find imperfect. Similarly, Netflix made headlines in 2020 by updating metadata for Elliot Page, though inconsistencies remain for other performers. Meanwhile, policy shifts on social media platforms like Twitter have seen the removal of specific protections against deadnaming, highlighting the ongoing, contentious nature of how digital spaces manage identity and historical records.

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