ETYMOLOGY

Harry Potter characters

Ever since the recent launch of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and now the news of three e-Books to be released on September 6, the interest in the wizarding world and whatever goes on inside it has awakened among Muggles once again. So we, too, decided to give potterheads a little treat this week. Let us talk about a few Harry Potter characters and what their names have to do with what we know about them. If you are thinking “they are just simple wizard names, what’s the big deal?” you are not wrong because authors do have a tendency to come up with names for their characters randomly, but in case of Rowling, there is some method to madness which is evident as we take a closer look at them.

Let us begin with Hermione whose name we all pronounced wrong till she enlightened Victor Krum about it in The Goblet of Fire. The name “Hermione” has its significance from Greek Mythology; she shared her name with the daughter of King Meneluas. Can you guess who her mother was? Helen of Troy! William Shakespeare is believed to have named the Queen of Sicily in his play The Winter’s Tale after the Greek Hermione, and that is where J.K. Rowling adopted it from. The word “Granger”, however, is Middle English for bailiff. Makes sense, considering Hermione’s oft-commanding character.

Ron Weasley, the second of Harry’s closest friends has an interesting history behind his first name. Legend has it that King Arthur called his spear “Ron”. Interestingly, Ron’s dad is Mr. “Arthur” Weasley. The rivalry between Mr. Weasley and “Lucius” Malfoy reminds us of the war between King Arthur and Roman emperor, Lucius.

The name of Mr. Malfoy’s son and Harry’s archrival throughout the series, “Draco” is derived from Latin, meaning a ‘fire-spitting beast’ or ‘a dragon’. The expression ‘draconian laws’ also refers to unusually harsh laws, and is a reminder of the cruel Athenian lawmaker by the name Draco. It also appears in Hogwarts school motto Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus (never tickle a sleeping dragon). As for the second name, “Malfoy” or mal foi simply means ‘bad faith’ in French.

And if we consider the names of teachers at Hogwarts, Harry’s half-giant teacher of Care for Magical Creatures, “Hagrid” might have his first name taken from the word ‘hagridden’ which means ‘worried’. Furthermore, in Old English, Hagrid was an adjective for someone having a bad night.

Then we have Severus Snape who taught Potions/Defence Against the Dark Arts? “Severus” was a Latin word, meaning ‘harsh’. He was harsh, wasn’t he? At least, until his softer side was revealed. Oh, and the word “Snape” was used in Old English as a verb that meant to hurt someone.

Who can forget Remus Lupin, the werewolf who was one of the best friends of Harry’s father? He kept his secret hidden from his students (including Harry) for some time. Only if Harry or his folks were good at Latin or Muggle history, they could have understood there was something fishy. Remus and Romulus were the founders of Rome, abandoned in childhood and were raised by a she-wolf. And “Lupin” comes from the Latin word Lupus meaning ‘wolf’.

Another friend of James Potter (Harry’s father), Sirius Black - ‘the prisoner of Azkaban’, one of the closest allies and godfather to Harry - was an animagus (combination of animal and image) who could transform into a black dog at will. The word “Sirius” in Astronomy is used for the brightest star on the Earth’s night sky. You know what Sirius star is colloquially called? Dog Star! And “Black” fits into his personality like a jigsaw puzzle.

Completing James and Lily’s immediate circle was Peter Pettigrew, but that was before he joined hands with Lord Vol- You Know Who. Peter was an animagus, too, and could transform into a rat. And as a rat, he remained in hiding at the Weasley home for some time as pet to Percy and Ron. Hence the second name, “Pet-I-Grew”.

Since we are talking about villains, do you remember ‘the man with two faces’ from The Philosopher’s Stone? Yes, Quirinus Quirrell. Did you know “Quirinus” in mythology refers to the Roman god Janus Quirinus who had two faces!

Other minor characters include Cho Chang, the girl on whom Harry had a huge crush. Her first name Cho is a Japanese word that means ‘very’ or ‘extremely’, and when it is combined with Chang it refers to someone who is a very quick thinker, which is reasonable for a Ravenclaw. But there is more to it! Cho cho in Japanese means butterfly. And Cho was pretty, wasn’t she?

Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, shared his first name with Saint Cornelius, who was known for being lenient towards the ‘lapsed’ (those who had renounced Christianity during persecution). Consequently, he was exiled and then martyred. And since the word “Fudge” means to evade or dodge, the name seems appropriate for someone who never believed that the Dark Lord is back!

Finally, the house elf who used to work for the Malfoys, Dobby. The word “Dobby” is used in Yorkshire and Lancashire for ‘brownie’. No, not the dessert brownie; according to folklore, it is a legendary hobgoblin-like creature lurking in your house and helps you with chores!

We thought the magic of Harry Potter was contained within the spells, but it appears that a lot of magic had been hidden between the lines. Turns out Ms. Rowling took great care while naming her characters and somehow left a connection between their names and personality.

Note: If you are a wizard or witch, and you are outraged by the idea that wizard names trace back to Muggle terms, and are seriously unhappy with Us for exposing that, then... Obliviate!