The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter

by David Colbert

  In at least one important case the origins are difficult for even Rowling to trace. She assumed she had invented “Hogwarts”; butJ. K. Rowling says “Harry” is just a name she has always liked. It came to her instantly. “Potter” took longer. She tried several other names first. Her final choice came from the name of childhood friends.

  Rowling says Ron Weasley is a lot like her best friend from school; and his name is similar also. The boy who inspired Ron is named Sean. Odd fact: He even had a Ford Anglia car.

  after Stone was published, a friend of Rowling suggested to her that they had seen a plant named “hog-wort” on a visit to the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. (“Wort” is an old word for “plant,” from the Anglo-Saxon wyrt.) That sounded right to Rowling. But Kew have no record of displaying the plant, an invasive weed of the sort they like to keep out, or the similarly named “hog-weed.” It’s possible, say experts there, Rowling and her friend are recalling a pop song from their youth, “The Return of the Giant Hogweed,” by the band Genesis. It is a story about a very angry plant at the Gardens.

  Rowling’s own name is worth a little digging too. Just like the names inside the books, there’s a story for the name on the cover. “J. K. Rowling” is partially invented. Rowling had no middle name before the first Harry Potter book was published. This became a problem when her publishers said they wanted the name on the book to have initials rather than “Joanne.” (They worried boys would not want to read a book written by a woman.) “J. Rowling” didn’t sound right, so Rowling took the name of one of her grandmothers and then used its initial.

  Here are some others, arranged by the sources Rowling commonly uses.

  GEOGRAPHY

  Bagshot, Bathilda (the author of A History of Magic): Bagshot is a town near London.

  Dursley: A town near J. K. Rowling’s birth-place.

  Firenze: Italian name for the city of Florence.

  Flitwick, Professor (Charms teacher): Flitwick is a town in England.

  Snape, Severus: Snape is the name of another English village.

  FOREIGN WORDS

  Bagman, Ludovic: In Latin, ludo means “I play”—perfect for the head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports. “Bagman” comes from his corrupt nature. In slang, a bagman is the person who handles the money in a dishonest scheme.

  Beauxbatons: French for “beautiful wands.”

  Bonaccord, Pierre: The first Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards must have been a peacemaker, because in French his name means “goodwill”

  or “fellowship,” or, literally, “good agreement.” (“Mugwump” is the English version of mugquomp , meaning “chief” in the language of the Algonquin tribe of Native Americans. It has also come to mean someone in politics who thinks independently.)

  “Muggles” comes from English slang. A “mug” can mean someone who is easily fooled. In 2003, J. K. Rowling’s version was added to the Oxford English Dictionary.

  Gubraithian Fire: As Hermione explains to Harry and Ron in Phoenix, this is everlasting fire. The giants of the north probably knew this already, because Scots cheer “Alba Gu Bragh!”—“Scotland Forever!”—in Gaelic. The name would also be recognized in Ireland, where people cheer “Erin Go Bragh! ”

  Mosag: Gaelic for nasty, dirty woman.

  Nigellus, Phineas: His last name comes from the Latin word for “black.” His first name refers to a Bible character, Phinehas, who was quick to accuse people of doing wrong. It’s the perfect name for a character who storms about,

  complaining of everyone else’s behavior.

  Tenebrus: The name of Hagrid’s favorite Thestral comes from the Latin word meaning “darkness” or “blindness.” Many animals and insects that live in the dark have “tenebrosus” in their scientific names.

  LITERATURE

  Crookshanks: George Cruikshank (1792-1878) was a cartoonist who illustrated some of the most popular books of the nineteenth century, including the first English edition of Grimm’s fairy tales and novels by Charles Dickens, Sir Walter Scott, and Louisa May Alcott. (“Cruikshank” and “Crookshanks” literally mean “bow-legged,” as Crookshanks is.)

  A George Cruikshank illustration.

  Dearborn, Caradoc (Order of the Phoenix member who vanished and is thought to be dead): His last name is a translation of his first. “Caradoc” means “dearly loved.” In the legends of King Arthur a knight named Caradoc is one of the most pure of the Round Table.

  On many telephone keypads, the Ministry of Magic’s phone number, 62442, spells M-A-G-I-C.

  Diggory, Cedric: Digory Kirke is a hero of some of J. K. Rowling’s favorite books as a child, The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. Notice that Cedric is not far from a rearrangement of Kirke.

  Flint, Marcus (captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team): Possibly named for Captain John Flint from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. (Rudolf Hein, creator of a web site devoted to Harry Potter names, made this clever connection.)

  Granger, Hermione (pronounced her-MY-oh-nee): Her uncommon first name is a form of “Hermes,” name of the Greek god of communication and eloquence. It fits the talkative Ms. Granger well. Rowling found the name in Shakespeare’s A Winter’s Tale, and makes a fun reference to Shakespeare’s character in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Shakespeare’s Hermione is turned into a statue, which is what happens to Hermione Granger after the basilisk attacks her in Chamber. Rowling must have smiled when she thought of that. (See also “Hermes,” page 176)

  Lockhart, Gilderoy: The first name of this phony refers to his being gilded (covered in a thin gold foil) to make him seem intelligent and attractive. Rowling found it in a book that mentioned a legendary Gilderoy who was a handsome highway thief and something of a folk hero. The last name, she says, comes from a war memorial. Gilderoy Lockhart’s hypnotic power over female fans happens to fit that last name, which means “strong beguiler” and was shared by a Scottish nobleman whose proud motto was “Locked hearts I open.”

  (Although an Australian town called Lockhart is near another called Wagga Wagga, which gave its name to the Wagga Wagga Werewolf that Gilderoy fought, J. K. Rowling recalls that “Lockhart” came first, and not from a map. Perhaps it’s a coincidence; or perhaps she decided to connect the two when she saw “Lockhart” on the map next to a name too good to resist.)

  Marchbanks, Griselda (Wizengamot elder who resigns when Dolores Umbridge is appointed High Inquisitor of Hogwarts in Phoenix): Her last name comes from a pseudonym, “Samuel Marchbanks,” used by the Canadian novelist Robertson Davies. Like Rowling, Davies is known for stories that combine magic andRowling’s source for the name “Gilderoy” mentions a J. G. Lockhart who wrote many books, just like Rowling’s Gilderoy. He was the son-in-law and biographer of Sir Walter Scott, the author whose skills earned him the nickname “Wizard of the North.”

  from “Loch Ness” by William McGonagall:

  Beautiful Loch Ness,

  The truth to express, Your landscapes are lovely and gay,

  Along each side of your waters, To Fort Augustus all the way,

  Your scenery is romantic, With rocks and hills gigantic, Enough to make one frantic . . .

  academic life. One of his books, Tempest-Tost, tells of a company of amateur actors putting on Shakespeare’s play The Tempest, about a wizard and his enchanted island. The character in the novel who plays Shakespeare’s heroine, Ariel, is named Griselda Webster.

  McGonagall, Minerva: Her first name, as mentioned earlier, refers to Minerva, Roman goddess of wisdom and the arts. Her last name, Rowling admits, comes from William McGonagall (c. 1830-1902), a Scottish poet who is famous for being awful. Though people eventually grew fond of his determination, they also laughed at him a lot. But that didn’t stop him. He was oblivious to his reputation.

  Tofty, Professor: This wrinkled wizard, who helps Griselda Marchbanks conduct the OWL examinations in Phoenix, is no toff. Although it’s possible Rowling just ran across the name s
omewhere, it’s also possible there’s a more amusing explanation connected to the source of Marchbanks’s name described above. While the Robertson Davies novel Tempest-Tost, which offered Marchbank’s name, is about Shakespeare’s The Tempest, the phrase “tempest-tost” actually appears in a line spoken by a witch in Macbeth. When plotting trouble for a character, she speaks the lines Davies quotes at the beginning of his book:

  Though his bark [boat] cannot be lost,

  Yet it shall be tempest-tost [tossed by a storm]

  (Act I, scene iii)

  However, until modern times the letter “s” was sometimes written differently, as this detail from the first printed edition of Macbeth shows:

  Though his Barke cannot be lost, Yet it shall be Tempest-tost.

  Weird Sisters: The name of Harry’s favorite musical group is another Shakespeare reference. It appears several times in Macbeth to describe the three witches who help stir up trouble in their cauldron.

  HISTORY

  Doge, Elphias (founding member of the Order of the Phoenix): His first name is a small twist on Eliphas Levi, the pseudonym of French sorcerer and author Alphonse Louis Constant (1810-1875), whose many books on magic were popular and influential. “Doge”The witches in Macbeth were not Shakespeare’s invention. They appear in his source, Raphael Holinshed’s “Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland” (1577). Even the phrase “weird sisters” appears in Holinshed. He described the women as “the goddesses of destiny [the Fates], or else some nymphs or fairies with knowledge of prophecy” through magic.

  Costume of the Doge of Venice, with corno.

  was the name of the leader or “duke” of Venice when it was a republic. In Phoenix, Sirius shows Harry a photo of Elphias and points out “that stupid hat,” a reference to the famous symbol of the doge, a cap called a corno (“horn” in Italian).

  Gray Lady: Ravenclaw’s house ghost is named for a specific type of spirit. Many mansions and castles are said to be haunted by a “Gray Lady” from a local family, who, when alive, had been unlucky in love or lost a partner.

  Slytherin, Salazar: António de Oliveira Salazar was dictator of Portugal—where J. K. Rowling once lived—from 1932 to 1968. He was known for very harsh policies. (Another smart connection made by Rudolf Hein.)

  Smethwyck, Hippocrates: The Healer-in-Charge in one of St. Mungo’s wards gets his first name from an ancient Greek physician who is considered the founder of medical science. The oath that doctors take today is called the Hippocratic Oath.

  Violet: This gossipy witch, who zips from painting to painting in Goblet, eavesdropping on the conversation with the four Triwizard Tournament champions and then racing to tell the Fat Lady what she has heard, is not named for a flower. (The violet flower signifies modesty, which hardly fits her.) The clue to her identity may be the “walrus moustache” on the man in the painting next to hers. A woman named Violet Hunt (1866-1942) was a

  notorious literary figure in early twentieth century England, known as much for her flirtatiousness and unreliable gossip as for her writing. She had a long, complicated, and very public love affair with novelist Ford Madox Ford, who had a very full walrus mustache of his own.

  J. K. Rowling is not the only writer to choose odd names like Araminta (for a relative of Sirius) and Arabella (the first name of Mrs. Figg). Maybe she just thinks they sound good—that’s to say, they’re “mellifluous,” like Araminta Meliflua. In the 1895 novel pictured to the left, well known for its illustrations, Arabella and Araminta are twin sisters.

  Wizengamot: This assembly of wizards takes its name from the Anglo-Saxon version of the House of Lords, the Witenagemot. In Anglo-Saxon that name literally means assembly (gemot) of wise men or counselors (witan).

  RELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY

  Diggle, Dedalus: In Greek myth, Daedalus was a brilliant inventor. Among his many designs was the Labyrinth of Crete that inspired the maze of the Triwizard Tournament (see page 153). When the king of Crete would not let Daedalus leave the island, he fashioned wings from feathers and wax for himself and his son Icarus. As they flew away Icarus became overconfident and flew too close to the sun, melting the wax and destroying the wings. He fell, and died. Daedalus, older and wiser, survived.

  Hermes (Percy Weasley’s owl): Hermes was the messenger of the Greek gods.

  Jones, Hestia: When Harry first meets Order of the Phoenix member Hestia Jones she is near a toaster. That’s a joke about her first name. In Greek mythology, Hestia is the goddess of the hearth (the fireplace where meals are cooked).

  Lupin, Remus (a werewolf): The name of this werewolf is a double pun. Lupus is Latin for “wolf.” The legendary founders of Rome, who as children were suckled by a wolf, were named Romulus and Remus.

  Meadowes, Dorcas (late member of the Order of the Phoenix): Dorcas is a Bible character, also known as Tabitha, noted for her good deeds. Many churches have a Dorcas Society made of female members who help the poor.

  Patil, Parvati: Parvati is a Hindu goddess.

  Prewett, Gideon: This founding member of the Order of the Phoenix gets his first name from a Bible character who fought the followers of what was thought to be a false god, Baal.

  Ragnok: If his name is any indication, the goblin with whom Bill Weasley is negotiating an alliance against Voldemort in Phoenix would be a fierce friend. It comes from Ragnorok, Norse mythology’s version of the Apocalypse, a great battle that ends the world as we know it.

  Sprout, Pomona: The first name of the Hogwarts professor of Herbology comes from the Roman goddess of fruit. Her last name needs no explanation.

  Ragnorok ends when Fenrir, a terrifying wolf-monster who is the child of the trickster god Loki, swallows the sun, symbol of the chief Norse god, Odin. This myth was the basis of key scenes in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.

  Tonks, Nymphadora: The first name of this shape-shifting wizard refers to nymphs, nature spirits in Greek mythology whose name was later connected to creatures that change their form as they grow. (See page 30)

  SAINTS

  Hedwig: A saint who lived in Germany in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. An order of nuns established under her patronage chose as its work the education of orphaned children—like Harry.

  Ronan (centaur): An Irish saint. (As some readers have pointed out, Ronan the centaur has red hair!)

  St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries: A real St. Mungo’s in London is a large humanitarian organization for the homeless. St. Mungo is the patron saint of Glasgow, Scotland, and appears on its coat of arms.

  FLOWERS AND PLANTS

  Brown, Lavender (one of Hermione’s room-mates): In legend the lavender flower has many meanings. One of them, which fits Lavender Brown’s childish way of gossiping with her friend Parvati Patil, is distrust.

  Delacour, Fleur: In French, fleur is simply “flower.” With “de la cour ” it means “flower of the court,” a term for a noblewoman.

  Dursley, Petunia: The petunia symbolizes anger and resentment. Enough said.

  Figg, Arabella: The fig flower signifies secrets. Arabella is certainly keeping one.

  Malfoy, Narcissa: The narcissus flower, which shares its name with the vain Narcissus of Greek legend, symbolizes self-love, a typical Malfoy quality. (See page 148)

  Moaning Myrtle: The myrtle symbolizes joy, a funny twist for the name of this unhappy ghost.

  Oliver Wood (the Quidditch player), Olive Hornby (the student who teased Moaning Myrtle), and Mr. Ollivander (wand maker): Oliver Wood deserves the connection between olive laurels and victory. Olive Hornby certainly isn’t connected to the other meaning of the olive tree, peace, but perhaps some of Mr. Ollivander’s wands are.

  Plants and trees also appear in the names of the streets in the Dursleys’ town of Little Whinging: The Dursleys live on Privet Drive. Mrs. Figg lives on Wisteria Walk. The Knight Bus stops at Magnolia Crescent. Dudley and his friends gang up on Harry in Magnolia Road.

  Parkinson, Pan
sy: The pansy signifies thinking of a loved one. While it’s true that Pansy Parkinson thinks of Draco Malfoy after the incident with Buckbeak in Azkaban, most of the time she doesn’t think of anyone but herself. Instead, look to the word’s modern slang meaning, an annoying girlishness.

  Patil, Padma: Padma is the Sanskrit word for the lotus flower, central to Hindu religion. It is a common name.

  Pomfrey, Poppy: The first name of the Hogwarts nurse comes from the flower of the opium plant, which has long been used as medicine.

  Potter, Lily: The lily is a symbol of purity, which makes it almost too perfect for the name of Harry’s mother.

  Spore, Phyllida (author of One Thousand Magical Herbs): From the “spores” plants use as seeds, and the Greek phylla, meaning “leaves.”

  MISCELLANEOUS

  N.E.W.T.s (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests): Newts, baby salamanders, are familiar to witches and wizards from the brew mixed in Shakespeare’s Macbeth: “Eye of newt and toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog.” (See also pages 126 and 127)