What's in a Name?

A lot more than you might think!

 

 

People

 

Alastair (Moody)- Scottish for of the name Alexander which means protector of mankind. Considering his role as an auror, this name seems quite appropriate.

 

Albus (Dumbledore) - Latin meaning white, pale, fair, hoary, gray; bright, clear; favorable, auspicious, fortunate.

 

Argus (Filch) - in Greek mythology Hera's watchman was Argus (with 100 eyes of which half were always awake) whom she set to guard the cow Io, who was in reality Zeus' latest amour. Zeus sent Hermes to free Io. Once Hermes had bored Argus with his tales and sung him to sleep (all 100 eyes) he cut off his head and freed Io. Hera, mourning her watchman, took his eyes and set them upon the tail feathers of her favorite bird, the peacock.

 

Arthur (Weasley) - Welsh: "bear hero." Of course  the best known bearer of this name was Arthur Pendragon of legendary Camelot, the King of Britain.

 

Bagman (Ludo Bagman) - a person who collects money from illegal activities.

 

Cho - Japanese name meaning "butterfly"

 

Cornelius (Fudge) - Latin: meaning horn. Does this mean that he is all blaring blather and no substance or is that just my opinion?

 

Dementor - from the Latin demento, dementare, dementavi, dementatus  meaning to drive mad/crazy; bewitch; delude; rave, be out of one's mind.

 

Dobby - a "dobby" is an old English name for a benevolent elf that would anonymously perform household tasks in the night, like the elves and the shoemaker.

 

Draco (Malfoy) - Latin for dragon or snake also there is a constellation in the form of a dragon called Draco.

 

Dudley (Dursley) - a play on the word "dud", which is a slow witted person without initiative or energy. Petunia often calls him Dudders as an affectionate pet name. Dudder means to confuse or stun with noise. Gee how well this name fits!

 

Dumbledore - 'dumbledore' is an old English word for a bumblebee.

 

Dursley - a small town in Britain.

 

Filch (Argus Filch) - to filch means to steal and we all know that Filch the caretaker loves to "confiscate" things from the students!

 

Firenze - Italian for the city of Florence. Florence is where the great astronomer Galileo Galilei's grave is, which links to the centaurs' passion for astronomy

 

Fleur Delacour - translates to 'flower of the court' in French, which would allude to allure that she has for men, always holding court over the men in her presence.

 

Flitwick - a town outside of London

 

Gilderoy (Lockhart)- Gilded meaning covered in thin sheets of gold and roy or roi meaning king, thus golden king.

 

Hagrid- in Greek mythology Hagrid was one of the giants thrown out of Olympus when Zeus came into power, however, Zeus took a liking to Hagrid and allowed him to stay as the animal caretaker.

 

Harry - Old English for of the name Henry. Henry comes from the Old German meaning "house ruler" and has been a long time favorite among British Royals. House ruler is another way of referring to the clan leader of chief, as in the House of Gordon's house ruler is the Marquis of Huntley and is known as The Chief. Is it possible that the Henry/Harry reference will reflect Harry being the leader of the House of Gryffindor or heir of Gryffindor?

 

Hedwig- In Old English Hedwig meant hidden weapon. In old the Viking language hed meant more and wig meant agile, thus Hedwig meant more agile. St. Hedwig (1174-1243) was the Duchess of Silesia who was noted for her piety, gentleness and selfless charity. Personally I like the first definition,  maybe Hedwig will prove to be a hidden weapon for Harry!

 

Hermione (Granger) - the feminine form of Hermes (the winged messenger god of the Greeks), it means 'eloquence'. Hermione was the Muse of Poetry and also was the name given to the daughter of Helen of Troy.

 

Lily (Evans Potter)- Lily is a genus of flowering plant known for its tall slender stalks and beautiful flowers. In heraldry it is the Fleur de Lis, and in symbolism it means pure and unsullied. Lily, a Muggle born witch,  was the wife of James Potter, and the mother of Harry. She worked tirelessly  alongside her husband and Albus Dumbledor in the fight against evil.

 

Lucius (Malfoy) - Luci or lux meaning light, it is used to describe Venus the morning star, and in Hebrew mythology is Lucifer son of the morning star who was cast out of heaven and became Satan. There are many references to this praenomen in Latin history. Most notably to Lucius Cornelius Sulla: a Roman general, who captured and massacred 8000 prisoners, had himself named dictator of Rome in 82 BC and began the systematic butchery of his enemies. His dictatorship was notorious for its cruelty and lack of legality.  The second most notable reference to this name in Latin history is Lucius Accius a tragic poet known for his violent plots and flamboyant characterizations.  One of his most famous quotes being from Atreus, "Oderint, dum metuant!" ("Let them hate so long as they fear") a motto that is said to have appealed to the tyrant Caligula.

 

Ludo (Bagman) - Latin for 'play' Do you think this gives us some insight into the man's true nature? All play and no real substance? Or is that just a ruse?

 

Lupin (Remus Lupin) - derived from the Latin word "lupus" which means wolf; lupine is a leguminous plant cultivated for it's blue/purple flowers, one variety of which is grown in America as an important source of fodder.

 

Malfoy - 'mal foi' means bad faith in French

 

Maxime (Olympe Maxime) - a reference to her size (maximum), Maxime is French for principle, since she is the principal of Beauxbatons, but does she have principles and will she stand by them?

 

Minerva (McGonagall) - the goddess of wisdom, war and academe in Roman Mythology, she is the equivalent of Athena whose symbol was the owl Bubo.

 

Molly (Weasley) - most often a pet name for Martha, which comes from the Aramaic meaning lady or woman. St. Martha is the patroness of housewives. Well Molly is the total mom so I guess that it fits, Molly is also used as a pet name for Mary and Margaret, though not as often as for Martha. Mary comes from the Hebrew Miriam meaning bitter, while Margaret comes from  Latin and means pearl. Take your pick, but Martha still seems to be the most likely fit.

 

Narcissa (Malfoy) - from narcissi meaning flower; in mythology Narcissus was the son of Cephisus and Liriope, rich freedman of Claudius the nymph Echo fell in love with him, but he seeing his own reflection in the pool fell in love with himself and died by the pool waiting for his love to be requited. Echo wasted away pining for Narcissus until only her voice was left. The gods changed what was left of Narcissus into a flower as a reminder of his vanity and the tragic end it brought.

 

Nicolas (Flammel) - Greek meaning victorious people.

 

Olympe (Maxime)- from Olympia the mountain home of the Greek gods, this is an obvious reference to her size (she being half giant.)

 

Padma (Patil)- the lotus flower; Padmasambhava brought the tantra to the people and he personifies the Guru principle, the heart of Vajrayana Buddhism, and is therefore known as 'sangye nyipa', the second Buddha. Padma is used by all schools of Buddhism to symbolize the "Buddha-truth;" emerging from the muddy depths of the swamp the pure and beautiful lotus flower (padma) arises to receive light and air as followers of the Buddhism struggle up from the depths of society to receive truth.

 

Parvati (Patil)- from parvat, which means mountain Parvati, the daughter of King Himavat (the Himalayan Mountains) and the heavenly nymph Mena was born human. Through her selfless devotion to the Hindu god Shiva became Shiva's wife and attained godhood. She is the mother of Ganesha, the remover of obstacles, and Shanmukha. Affection for and obedience to the elders, loyalty to tradition, determination steady devotion to Shiva, kindness towards those in trouble, perseverant effort till the completion of a good deed-these are the traits Parvati had.  (An interesting note: The Patil Twins' names represent the finest characteristics of the two main religions of India, Buddhism and Hinduism.)

 

Peeves- peeve is a colloquialism meaning a complaint, a fit of resentment; to fret to complain; to vex, to provoke.  This fits perfectly with the poltergeist's goals.

 

Petunia (Evans Dursley)- petunia's are a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family known for their clammy, hairy herbage and trumpet shaped flowers.  The petunia is one of the most common bedding plants and is known for its sweet fragrance and dependability. Petunia's prefer to be in full sunlight. Petunia seems to feel that she was in her sister Lily's shadow where their parents were concerned, and this has been a sore point for her, but maybe like the flower she is named after, she is more dependable than not, after all she did keep Harry.

 

Poppy (Pomfrey) - one of the oldest medicinal plants, the poppy is used in sleeping and pain relieving potions; Poppy Pomfrey is the school's healing specialist.

 

Remus (Lupin) - Remus and Romulus; twins abandoned at birth and raised by a wolf were the founders of Rome. Romulus stabbed Remus in the back, killing him in order to become the sole king of Rome. Will Lupin also have a twin that turns out to be evil?

 

Ron (Weasley)- Ron is a shortened version of the name Ronald which comes from Old Norse and means mighty.

 

Rubeus (Hagrid) - Latin meaning of or produced from a bramble (not to be confused with rubellus meaning red in hue.)

 

Salazar (Slytherin) - Antonio Salazar was the fascist dictator of Portugal for 36 years; he believed in ethnic purity in the same way in which Hitler did.  Slytherin believed in magical purity and taught that muggle born and half blood magical people were inferior and therefore should not be allowed into Hogwarts, and even exterminated. Salazar is a reference to this belief.

 

Severus - Latin for stern, strict, severe; grave, austere; weighty, serious; unadorned, plain. Not only is his demeanor indicated, but also his physical appearance.

 

Sinistra (Professor Sinistra) - Latin for left, also contains the connotations in Latin of improper, adverse or inauspicious dealing with the auspices of the planets. In music, sinistra is used as an instruction for the playing of notes so marked with the left hand. Professor Sinistra is the Astronomy teacher and this seems to be a reference to the practice of reading the planets for the auspices of a planned project. However, it could just mean she is left-handed or had a left-handed ancestor, or maybe it foreshadows the development of the character in the book into a sinister character. Hmmm, makes you think doesn't it?

 

Sirius (Black)- the greater dog star, this clearly plays upon the character's ability to transform into a dog (a black dog at that.)

 

Skeeter - in the American South, skeeter is slang for a mosquito or an annoying pesky person.

 

Snape - small town in Britain

 

Sybil (Trelawney)- prophetesses who were connected with the Oracle of Delphi were called sybils. Trelawney - Trelawney is the hero of a poem "And shall Trelawney die?" possibly giving reference to the way she predicts a students death every year.

 

Vernon (Dursley)- From the Latin for "springlike." This name suggests the cool bright green of springtime. Somehow this name just doesn't seem to fit the character, but maybe there is something we have yet to learn about Uncle Vernon.

 

Vicktor (Krum)- Latin: victor meaning triumphant.

 

Voldemort - vol - French for flight, de meaning of, mort meaning death: e.g. flight of death. Can also mean death by theft.

 

Places, Pets and Spells & Other Magical Words

 

accio - Latin: send for, summon (forth), fetch; invite; (w/mortum) commit suicide so DO NOT use this with death or any word that means death!

 

animagus - Latin: animus mind; intellect; soul; feelings; heart; spirit, courage, character, pride; air; Persian: a learned or wise man, an astrologer: in Latin the term was expanded to mean magical or magician. Therefore, an animagus reflects the character of the magician.

 

beauxbatons - French for 'handsome sticks' in this case a reference to wands, as the school's emblem is two crossed wands.

 

Crookshanks - arcane way of saying crooked or bowed legs.

 

crucio - Latin: torment, torture; cause grief/anguish; suffer torture; grieve, be in agony

 

Diagon Alley - literally diagonally, the Alley is in a magical plane lying diagonal to the muggle streets of London.

 

expecto - Latin: anticipate, hope for; hence expecto patronus is the spell calling forth the protector (in this case against Dementors.)

 

expelliarmus- expel: to thrust out, to force to leave; armus of or having to do with weapons or defensive armor. This spell forces the opponents wand to fly out of their hand, thus disarming them.

 

Fawkes - after Guy Fawkes who participated in the Gunpowder Conspiracy of 1605 which attempted to blow up the House of Lords on the opening day of Parliament with 36 kegs of gunpowder. Guy was tortured, hung, drawn and quartered. Celebrations with the lighting of fireworks and the burning of Guy Fawkes in effigy upon a bonfire were instituted to remind English subjects of the dangers of the conspiracy and the triumph of the defeat of Guy and his co-conspirators. Although Guy Fawkes did not himself burn at the stake, he is each year burned in effigy and so is a fitting name for a phoenix who bursts into flame and is reborn from the ashes.

 

Hippogriff- Greek: hippo meaning horse; griff: coming from griffin a mythological beast with the body of a lion and the head, wings and talons of an eagle. Hippogriff is a creature with the midsection and rear of a horse and the head, wings and talons of an eagle.

 

Imperious- Latin: imperi meaning command; authority; rule, supreme power; the state, the empire. Thus the imperious curse exerts authority over the one being cursed and allows the perpetrator to command the actions of the cursed.

 

kappa - a Chinese water demon

 

Knockturn Alley- a play on the word nocturnally meaning at night or of the dark;  this is the Alley where dark arts objects can be bought and sold.

 

lumos-  Latin: lumen meaning light, lamp, torch, eye (of a person), life, day, daylight: and os meaning opening or entrance. Thus lumos opens a light source.

 

mandrake- (a corruption of mandragora) mandrake is a member of the nightshade family. Its fleshy root is said to resemble a human being and to emit a cry when disturbed. A narcotic it is used in medicine for pain relief, sleeping draughts and for its hypnotic qualities. It is said to have aphrodisiacal properties. In the Harry Potter Series it is used as a restorative from petrifaction (in opposition to its real qualities.)

 

muggle - From the Romany word mug (originally from Sanskrit "mukha") for face contains the connotation of pulling a grimace or making a face. In English, the word mug is used to denote a fool. This reference has many possible origins. A mughouse is another word for an alehouse or pub, and hence a mug could denote someone who has become foolish in his drunkenness.  Muggletonians were followers of a religious sect, which arose in the middle of the seventeenth century (1650's give or take a few) founded by John Reeve and Ludovic Muggleton who claimed the power of prophecy. Many thought the followers of this sect were easily deceived and thus were considered by many to be foolish.

 

Norris, Mrs.- in Jane Austin's Mansfield Park, Mrs. Norris is the aunt who married the preacher and later ran the household for her sister Lady Seaton. Mrs. Norris was nosy and spiteful. Perhaps Filch's Mrs. Norris was a nosy spiteful person who has been bewitched into the form of a cat, or maybe it is just the cat's personality. What do you think?

 

nox - Latin for night, a fitting word to turn off light.

 

patronus - Latin: patron, patronus, patroni: meaning patron. advocate, defender, protector. Not to be confused with pater or patris meaning father or head of household.

 

pensieve - French pense to think; Sieve to sift; thus to literally sort through ones' thoughts. Also Latin: pense to weigh out; so giving pense a double meaning  "to weigh one's thoughts."

 

petrificus totalus- Latin: petre; rock (petrific ability to turn to stone) and total, meaning full or all. This spell is the full body bind. 

 

rictusempra- Prov. Eng.: wrick or rick to twist and turn; Latin: semper ever, always. This is the tickling spell making one twist and turn ever trying to get away from the tickling sensation.

 

riddikulus - Latin: rideo- to laugh at; and culus- buttocks, posterior, rude. Thus, to be made the butt of one's joke, to ridicule. This spell dispells a boggart by making it the butt of your joke; boggarts cannot abide being laughed at evidently they are too self-important.

 

Scabbers - colloquialism for a mean, dirty, paltry fellow, specifically in contempt. In modern slang it is a disparaging term used to describe a person who does not honor a strike and continues to work, or who takes the place of a worker on strike or who works below union wages.

 

Serpensortia- Latin: sorti, to cast or draw lots, fate; serpent, snake. This spell releases snakes on the opponent.

 

Tarantellegra- the tarantella is rapid Neapolitan dance in triplets so called because it was thought to be the cure for a tarantula bite. This spell causes one's body to jerk uncontrollably.

 

veritaserum- Latin: veritas truth, honesty and serum, the whey (or watery part) of curdled milk or any similar fluid. Veritaserum is a watery truth potion.

 

wingardium leviosa- Latin: levi meaning light; osa meaning hate, dislike, disinclined, reluctant; ardens meaning eager, with passion; ivum meaning of or related to.  Danish: vinge, (wing) the flying ligature of a bird or other animal. Thus the spell translates to "eagerly take wing the reluctantly light."  This is the levitation spell.