Context: I am visiting a high school friend. Another friend who we both knew in high school has posted some interesting things recently. This friend has changed their name, but the friend I am visiting is not following them and is not aware of their transition.
How do I bring up this friend without dead naming them?
just use their old name once when introducing the new name
Yeah this is the answer. It's okay to dead name when you're telling someone of a name change. After that, correct them every time if they don't use their new name.