This is Zoey! Today, I'm going to talk about my name! As you may know, names aren't always just labels that you call people, but sometimes they have meaning or significance of some sort. I will be discussing my current first name (Zoey), my dead name, (Zane), and my middle name (Louis). I'm not discussing my last name Baugher since that name probably has more history to it than even I know, though I will say it was originally a misspelling of the German word for Baker. Now, onto the names!
Selfie from back in January of this year.
Dead Name
As anyone who has known me before I came out as a trans woman in 2018 would know, my dead name was Zane, meaning "God is gracious". I don't like discussing it a lot as the name brings me dysphoria, as it reminds me of a time when I was too afraid to come out, or when I still hadn't hatched out of the "egg", as it were. My dead name was chosen by my mother after Zane Gray, my great-grandfather's favorite author, who I also share a birthday with, being January 31st. (though he was born 128 years before me in 1872, while I was born in 2000.) I also recently learned that my grandmother helped choose it as well. Unfortunately for the name, I ended up coming out as a woman in 2018, and opted for the name Zoey instead. Oh well. Maybe if I somehow have a son, I'll name them Zane. That's considering I'm ever able to have one and the partner I end up with lets me, of course.

Some thing with my dead name that my great-grandfather gave us when I was a baby. I just found out that it was actually made by Giftco in 1994 and not by him, but it's the thought that counts, right? It's too bad he never lived long enough to see the real me (Zoey), but then again, he might not have accepted me for who I am anyways.
Current First Name
As everyone who knows me would know, my current name is Zoey. Zoey is a name meaning life in Greek, though, that's not why the name was chosen. Originally, my mother had planned to name me "Zoe" if I was born a girl, and is still a tad bit upset that I chose the Zoey spelling, even though it's pronounced the same, because it is a less common spelling of the name. I chose the name after a female version of the character I named after my dead name, and her name was Zoey. That spelling itself, however, originated from the name Zoey Proasheck, a member of the Yogscast. The spelling was also chosen by me because it has the same amount of letters as my dead name.
This is a thing I wrote attached to nails in the wall of my beadroom. It reads, "Please call me Zoey"
Middle Name
My middle name is Louis, a name that originated from France, and that eighteen kings have had as their names, though I doubt I'm related to any of them. This middle name was chosen by my mother after my great-grandfather. Even though I have changed my first name, I refused to change my middle name, as it does not bring me as much dysphoria as my dead name, with it being a middle name and all, and the fact that it was chosen after a deceased family member. That's all I really have to say about that name though. I don't really have any pictures related to it either, so I apologize.
Well, I hope all of you got something out of that! I hope you have a good day!
Love,
Zoey Louis Baugher
P.S. Here's today's selfie!