| Names and Their Origins/Meanings |
| As a writer, I'm very careful about what I name my characters (which is why I love Babynames.com so much), so this was the first thing I jumped on. I like doing this anyway, finding out what names mean and everything, but much of my research is thanks to the fine people at Mugglenet, and the authors of my unauthorized guide. WARNING: Spoilers abound! If you haven't read all of the books (where have you been, Mars?), and don't want to know, then don't continue. I will not stand for angry posts on my guestbook (fat chance) from people yelling at me for spoiling it for them. |
| HARRY POTTER: Harry comes from Harold (Scandinavian in origin), which means "army ruler", although it could also come from Henry (German in origin), which means "ruler of the home". Also, "harry" is defined as "assault or torment" Potter relates to a potters field, which is a burial ground for unknown people and people without money *Interesting note* Harry's middle name is his father's first - James - which means supplant, (that's what my name comes from, too) Thoughts: It makes more sense if Harry comes from Harold, since Harry will be very instrumental (hello, prophecy?) in the coming war with Voldemort. Also, take note of his middle name (and not just because it's the root of mine), because "supplant" means "to take the place of through force or plotting", which also relates to Trelawney's prophecy. And we know that poor Harry has been assaulted and tormented all of his life, so that's no mystery there. RON WEASLEY: Ron comes from Ronald (English in origin), which means "advisor to the king" Weasely (I know the spelling's off, but go with me on this one) - like a weasel - crafty, and very good at getting out of inconvenient situations Thoughts: Hmm... Ron's a little tougher, but I think it is safe to assume that he is Harry's advice giver. Isn't it Ron who is always teaching Harry about the wizarding world? And Harry might not become the king of the wizarding world (aka Minister of Magic, which according to JKR is not going to happen), but he'll be close to it, I imagine. We haven't seen much of Ron's craftiness (it's usually Harry to the rescue), except while playing chess. JKR makes it a point to mention that Ron's a good chess player. But that's a good indication that he's like that in real life, too (just look at Gred and Forge, after all). HERMIONE GRANGER: Hermione (Greek in origin) means "earthy" *In Greek mythology, Hermione was the daughter of Helen (yeah, that one) and Menelaus, King of Sparta. Couldn't find much about her except that she was married to Achilles's son and Agamemnon's son (got this from Edith Hamilton's Mythology) *Hermione was also a character in Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale". Described (by Sparknotes) as being virtuous and beautiful, she is falsely accused of infidelity and dies of a broken heart, but is restored to life at the end of the play (sorry to spoil it for those who haven't read it) Granger is the name of the leader of "living books" (people who memorized books) in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. Coincidence? (In HP, no such thing) Thoughts: Hermione is very virtuous. She's loyal to Harry and Ron (she's got to be, after all she's gone through with them). And is JKR foreshadowing future events by naming her after a character who dies and is resurrected? Or was that a reference to Hermione being petrified in Chamber of Secrets? No such thing as a coincidence in the world of HP. After 5 books, I'm more convinced than ever that everything JKR puts in these books means something, so Ron's continual references to Hermione having memorized the entire library has to be some sort of homage to Fahrenheit 451. ALBUS DUMBLEDORE: Albus means "white" in Latin Dumbledore means "bumblebee" in Old English (anyone who's ever been forced to read Old English by psychotic English professors knows that this is entirely possible) Thoughts: Okay, don't make fun of me, but I actually looked up "white" in the dictionary. Here are just a few of the definitions - "pure, innocent"; "free of evil intent, harmless" (the rest had to do with the color, which can probably be ascribed to Dumbledore's long, silvery hair and beard). Don't these adjectives fit Dumbledore? I certainly don't believe he's harmless (he's the only wizard You-Know-Who was ever afraid of, after all), but "free of evil intent"? Come on, that's Dumbledore to a T. JKR once said she picked Dumbledore because she imagined him walking around the halls, humming to himself (like a bumblebee - AH HA!). MINERVA MCGONAGALL: Minerva was the Roman equivalent of Athena, goddess of wisdom, learning, war and crafts. She could also morph into other creatures to disguise herself Thoughts: Pretty crafty of JKR. McGonagall is a professor, so it seems right that she should be named after the goddess of wisdom and learning. But did you also notice that Minerva/Athena was also the goddess of war? McGonagall is in the Order, after all, and it seems she was last time, too, so she's done her fair share of fighting. Is this a reference to how important McGonagall really is to the anti-Voldemort cause? VOLDEMORT/TOM RIDDLE: Voldemort, when translated from French, means "flight of death" Many Danish kings (with a long history of brutal conflict with England), had the surname Valdemar Tom comes from Thomas (Greek in origin) and means "a twin" Riddle is pretty self-explanatory, I think, but here we go: "any puzzling or perplexing person or thing", but it also means "to make many holes in" Thoughts: We've already witnessed that it's damn near impossible for this guy to die, hence the "flight of death", and it's pretty interesting how closely his name corresponds to those Danish kings. Are we sure that Voldemort has no surviving relatives? JKR's usually pretty on top of things, and Tom does mean "a twin". "To make many holes in" - yeah, I think that's his plan, all right. |
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