Names and their meanings in HP

[Marigold]

I've only just found out that lupine means wolf like, and Proffessor Lupin was a werewolf......that is just sooo cool!:cool:

JKR is a very clever woman!

Marigold feels very in awe.......

.......(it took me a year to realise theat the mirror of erised was 'desire' backwards), i'll have to re read them all carefully and get a latin dictonary!:)

Has anyone noticed anything else?

[Anarie]

Yes, I noticed about Lupin too, cause latin one of my hobbits... ermmm, I mean hobbies. And there are many other things like that in HP books, most of spells have meaning in latin, I don't have my HP books right now so I can't give examples right now, but I'll come back with it later.

[Bridget Chubb]

I once saw a book that explained all the name meanings...my sister might have it.

Sirius is the dog star...hence Sirius Black who can turn into a dog

Narcissia (sp?) Malfoy, I'm assuming, comes from Narcissus, who was in love with his reflection.

"Voldemort" means "love of death" or "desire of death" or something...after countless years of French classes, I should know this one...:o

There's tons more, too.:) Great idea for a thread, Marigold!:D

[Swendula]

:D I love this stuff. A lot of it ties in with Roman/Greek mythology.

I'll just do one for now.
Minerva, McGonnagal's first name, is the Roman goddess of wisdom, her Greek counterpart being Athena.

[Anarie]

Few other meanings that I discovered and can remember now:

Albus = white (latin), he has white hair and beard, and he's one of the good guys, not from the dark side.

Aragog = arachna is a latin word for spider, but I don't know where's "gog" coming from.

Auror = aurum = gold (latin), also Aurora was the goddess of dawn in Roman mythology.

Lucius = reminds me of Lucifer, maybe that's what JK meant.

Maxime Olympe = that's funny, Maxime for maximum, and Olymp, well I'm sure you heard of mountain Olymp :) .

Accio (spell they used to bring objects) = I recieve (latin).

Avada Kedavra = arameic is one of my hobbies too, and avada in aramiec means destruction, loss. I don't know about kedavra, but it definitely sounds arameic to me.

Cruciatus = crucio = tortured (latin)

Expecto Patronus = I'm waiting for protector? (latin)

Imperius = impero = I command (latin)

Lumos = lumen = light (latin and elfish! :) )

Petrificus Totalus = sounds like "totally petrify", anyway "petra" is latin word for stone, and totus = all

Repero = I repair (latin)

Sonorus (the spell they used in 4 book instead of loudspeaker) = loud (latin)

And of course the meaning of "Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus" = never tickle a sleeping dragon (took me a while to translate "titillandus" but my father helped me, he knows latin a little too).

[~Tindómë~]

Dumbledore is bumble bee in old English, and Draco is dragon (I think):)

[Swendula]

Draco is also the largest of the seven constant constellations in the northern hemisphere. And yes, it is a dragon, but it is also often called "the serpent."

[Fleurdelacour]

I don't know if this means anything, but I was eating in a French cafe by the river today, adn noticed at my knife had "Lockhart Cultlery" written on it...

We all know jkr wrote most her books in cafes...

[Marigold]

Theres some really amazing sfuff manifesting itsself here! I love the translations of the spells. :D As Ron would say: Wicked!:D

[Hellga]

Kedavra sounds a lot like cadaver (aka corpse).

[Anarie]

I thought about this "kedavra" yesterday and suddenly I've got it, don't know what took me so long, it sounds almost like in modern hebrew, so it really shouldn't be a trouble for me.

avada = destruction/loss
kedavra = as been told, as was commanded

avada kedavra = I command to destroy! (something like that)

[Monkfish]

Rubeus Hagrid?
Alamora?

:confused:

[Fleur]

I got this from a cool little site -

Weasley, Ron :
Ron Weasley, in another language, is called "Running Weasel." Running Weasel was a warlord in the 6th Dynasty. He was a stratigist, and never lost a game of chess!! (That sounds just like Ron!) Unfortunately, he died when a rat that had been dyed yellow (Scabbers!!) by his soldiers for fun, knocked over a lamp in his palace, burning it to the ground, and killing Running Weasel.


Rubeus means Red... I dunno where that could tie in, maybe his 'ruddy cheeks' lol.

Albus can also mean Elf in Latin. Ta daa!

Argus is a creature from Greek Mythology who has a hundred eyes and is very watchful.

narcissism, whih is pretty close to Narcissa means "self-love" or people who think that they are more important and superior than other people.


Of course, everyone knows that Fleur Delecour means Flower of the court!

[Anarie]

Remus Lupin - even his first name has reference to wolves! There's a legend about Remus and Romulus that were raised by wolves and built the city of Rome.

Trelawney Sibyl - in Roman mythology Sibyl was a name of women that had prophetic abilities.

Expelliarmus - expel + arma (weapons in Latin).

Alohomora - I know that "aloha" means goodbye in hawaiian language, but I'm not sure if alohomora really connected to that. Have no idea where's "mora" coming from.

[amrael]

Sirius = name of a star, in the Canis Major (big dog) constellation.

Hermione= Greek goddess of speed and good luck. If this ties with the character of Ms Granger, somebody please explain.

Severus = stern in Latin. The Spanish form, Severo, while not common is not unheard of.

Salazar = Antonio Oliveira Salazar, dictator of Portugal from 1932 to 1968. JK Rowling lived in Portugal.

Nox = night in Latin.


and of course...


Potter = maker of earthenware pots or vessels. :p

[Monkfish]

Are you Sirius or having a laugh?

:rotfl:

[Ritkuli]

Some explanations I ran into. Rather interesting I might say :

Albus - In Latin means white (maybe for white beard)

Argus - In Greek mythology, Argus was a monster that had a hundred eyes and was ever-so-watchful.

Beauxbatons - French for 'beautiful wands'.

Dementor - Dementio means to go mad in Latin (demented).

Durmstrang - German phrase meaning storm and stress.

Ernie - Knight Bus conductor. Named after one of J.k. Rowlings grandparents.

Expecto Patronum - The spell that wards off demetors. Expecto means expect and Patronus means protection. Put together it is "expect protection."

Fleur Delacour - Fleur means flower in french. "De" means "of" or "from". La means the and Cour means Court. Couer in French is heart. Put together it's either "Flower of the Heart," "Flower of the Court," "Flower from the Heart," or "Flower from the Court."

Hagrid - Name and tale comes from greek myth. The ancient Hagrid from the myth was the god of Jewels. This god was said to be the kindest of the gods, but Hades framed him for the death of Piraeus's (the killer of Medusa) son. Hagrid was banished from Olympus but Zeus allowed him to stay as the watcher of the animals.

Hermione - Hermione was a character in Greek mythology who was loved by two men. These men (Orestes 2 and Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles) fought terribly for the love of the beautiful Hermione (Krum and Ron?). Orestes 2 was killed by a snake. Could this mean that either Ron or Krum will die at the hands of Lord Voldemort (whose symbol is a snake?).

Lupin - Lunar means moon. Lupin means Wolf-like. Canis Lupus is the scientific name for wolf.

Malfoy - "Mal foi" means "bad faith" in French. Malfoy has "mal" in it, meaning evil.

Minerva - In Roman Mythology was the Goddess of Wisdom. In Greek Mythology she was the Goddess of War. She gave strict punishments.

Nimbus - Nimbus means cloud. Nimbus was also a god in Greek Mythology.

Remus - Brother of Romulous (founder of Rome). They were raised by a female wolf. He was killed by Romulous.

Stan - Worked on the Knight Bus. Named after one of J.K. Rowling's grandparents.

Voldemort, Lord - There was a dark wizard in mid-evil times named Voldermortist. In another language, Voldermortist means "Lord of Evil" or "Dark Lord". Legend has it that Voldermortist once tried to destroy Merlin before the time of King Arthur (Mr. Weasley?), by bewitching good people, and simply bribing those who already were evil. Legend has it that Merlin destroyed Voldermortist by using a simple paralyzing charm (full body bind?), fed him to the many headed beast of the lake, the Lady of the Lake's pet (Giant Squid?), freed the bewitched people, and destroyed the evil men. That was maybe twelve, thirteen years before Arthur (how long it was from Voldemort's destruction until Harry started Hogwarts). Vol in French means "theif" or "flight," de means of or from, and mort is death. This could be "Flight from Death," "Flight of Death," "Theif of Death," or "Theif from Death." This means that he escapes death.

[Voronwe]

Originally posted by Ritkuli
Hermione - Hermione was a character in Greek mythology who was loved by two men. These men (Orestes 2 and Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles) fought terribly for the love of the beautiful Hermione (Krum and Ron?). Orestes 2 was killed by a snake. Could this mean that either Ron or Krum will die at the hands of Lord Voldemort (whose symbol is a snake?).


I've read somewhere that Rowling named Hermione for a character in The Winter's Tale. What happens there is that her husband, Leontes, thinks (for no good reason) that she's having an affair with his best friend, Polixenes. He falsely accuses her and she apparently dies -- but everything turns out well in the end (and I left out a lot of stuff in the interest of brevity ;)). Don't know that this has any bearing on future events -- maybe Rowling just liked the character, as she's a pretty cool lady.

I've also read that Professor McGonagall is named for William McGonagall (http://www.mcgonagall-online.org.uk/poems/), who wrote some truly dreadful poetry (most famously "The Tay Bridge Disaster").

Also, "Durmstrang" is a spoonerized version of the German phrase -- the original is Sturm und Drang.

[Mirdan]

here's some more cool and interesting ones:

Newt Scamander - full name: Newton Artemis Fido Scamander. newts are small salamanders; Artemis is the Greek goddess of hunting; Fido (Latin fidus, meaning "faithful") is a common pet name; Scamander sounds a lot like salamander, but Scamander is actually a name of the river mentioned in Homer's account of the Trojan War in The Iliad

Cedric Diggory - Digory Kirke is a heroic character in C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia

Fawkes - Dumbledore's pet phoenix; probably named after Guy Fawkes who was the leader of the Gunpowder Plot, an unsuccessful attempt by the English Catholics to blow up the Parliament building on Nov. 5, 1605. Guy Fawkes Day in Britain is celebrated with bonfire

Hermes - Percy's owl, Hermes is the messenger of the Gods

Hedwig - a German saint. an order of nuns established under her patronage chose as its work the education of orphaned children - like Harry

Gregory Goyle - one of Malfoy's sidekicks, Goyle's name sounds like Gargouille, a serpent-like dragon from France. no wonder this guy got landed in Slytherin!

Gryffindor - literally French for "golden griffin"; common adversary of serpents and basilisks (the Slytherins! :p )

Arsenius Jigger - the author of "Magical Drafts and Potions", Arsenius sounds like the poison arsenic; jigger is a liquid measurement, a little more than an ounce

Phyllida Spore - the author of "One Thousand Magical Herbs", Phyllida sounds like the Greek word phylum meaning "leaves"; Spore obviously comes from the "spores" plants use as seeds

Professor Sprout - Herbology teacher. anyone for Brussel sprouts ?

pensieve - Rowling created this by combining the French word penser ("to think") and sieve, which is a tool used to strain liquids and separate out desirable things

Dursley - a town near Rowling's birthplace

Diagon Alley - "diagonally"

Knockturn Alley - "nocturnally"

[amrael]

Posted by Mirdan

Arsenius Jigger - the author of "Magical Drafts and Potions", Arsenius sounds like the poison arsenic; jigger is a liquid measurement, a little more than an ounce



Besides, Arsenios is a Greek name. As it happens with Severus/Severo, Arsenio is used as a first name in modern Spanish. The original Greek meaning is 'Virile'

[Colli]

Originally posted by Mirdan
Gregory Goyle - one of Malfoy's sidekicks, Goyle's name sounds like Gargouille, a serpent-like dragon from France. no wonder this guy got landed in Slytherin!

Professor Sprout - Herbology teacher. anyone for Brussel sprouts ?

Diagon Alley - "diagonally"

Knockturn Alley - "nocturnally"

Someone also pointed out in our old thread that if you switch the consonants around in Crabbe and Goyle you get Grab and Coil, what a snake does to its prey.

Sprout I don't think has a specific connection to Brussel Sprouts, but rather a connection to plants in general. i.e. plants sprout up out of the ground. :)

I never noticed that about the alleys, that's cool.
:D

[Mirdan]

how about these:

Morsmorde - it's the spell used by the Death Eaters to conjure up the Dark Mark; it combines the Latin words Mors and modere (both Latin for "death" and "to bite", respectively)

Animagus - the Latin word magus means "wizard", so it makes sense that this word was added to the end of "Animal" -- Animagus!

Cassandra Vablatsky - author of the Divination book, "Unfogging the Future". in Greek mythology, Cassandra was blessed by the gift of prophecy by Apollo but was cursed by lack of power to persuade people. she foretold the arrival of the Trojan Horse and the doom that will follow, but the Trojans ignored her. Vablatsky comes into being by switching around the letters b and v in name of one Madame Blavatsky, a famous spiritist who founded the Occult Theosophical Society in 1875

Obliviate - comes from the Latin word oblivio, meaning oblivion/forgetfulness

Densaugeo - combining the Latin words dens ("teeth") and augeo ("to enlarge")

Veritaserum - veritas is Latin for "truth"

Padfoot - magical black dogs appear mysteriously in Europe and North America. there had been many sightings in England, and it is called by many names: Old Schuck, Schucky Dog, The Shug Monster, and Shag Dog. i think in central England, this giant black wolf-like dog goes by the name "Padfoot"

Alastor Moody (aka "Mad-Eye Moody") - "Alastor" was the name of a demon that executed court decrees in Hell; very fitting for this auror who carried out Ministry decrees by capturing Death Eaters. "Moody" = temperamental; perfect for "Mad-Eye" Moody, eh?

Professor Sinistra - ok, this one's a little out there. in Latin sinistra can either mean left or left-hand or harmful or ill-omen; since Professor Sinistra is the Astronomy teacher, i thought it was fitting that he/she is named so -- during the Dark Ages many omens were foretold by studying the heavenly bodies of the skies.....:confused:

Vindictus Viridian - the author of "Bewitch your Friends and Befuddle your Enemies with the Latest Revenges...." Vindictus comes from vindicta (Latin for "to avenge" or "punish") and Viridian comes from viridis, the Latin word for "green" (green with envy, hehehe....:D)

[Deagol's Bane]

Neat. I reckoned old J.R.R. would have enjoyed reading J.K.R.'s work. Would've tickled his fancy, it seems.
Uhh... so how about those centaurs... can't remember the names. Ferrenzi, Bane, and Rsomething...? I bet they mean something.

[Ritkuli]

Ronan - An irish saint

Firenze is the Italian name for the city of Florence.

[Pippin]

Originally posted by Voronwe
Also, "Durmstrang" is a spoonerized version of the German phrase -- the original is Sturm und Drang. And I never noticed!!!

This is a lovely learned little thread. :)


Snape is a village in northern England.

I reckoned old J.R.R. would have enjoyed reading J.K.R.'s work. Does that mean it´s time for a new "Echoes of Middle Earth" thread in HP lit.?

[Mellon]

There's a list of HP names that mean things at http://www.theninemuses.net/hp/.

A new LotR/HP thread sounds good to me :)

[Fleur]

nooo there's nothing worse. They are too different.

Cool names guys!

Two funny ones:

Mundungus Fletcher: (1) Mundungus means "garbage" or "rubbish." From the Spanish mondongo, or tripe, the linings of cattle stomachs used in cooking. The English considered these stomach linings to be garbage, and "tripe" in English means something is rubbish. (2) Mundungus also is an obsolete term for a very stinky tobacco. A fletcher is an arrow-maker (see Justin Finch-Fletchley).

Ludovic "Ludo" Bagman: Ludovic is from Gaelic for "devotee of the Lord." Ludo also is Latin for "I play." (He headed the Department of Magical Sport and Games.) In British slang, a bagman is a traveling salesman. In U.S. slang, it means a person who transports cash for a criminal operation. Ludo was a secret gambler who threw away his money.

[swiftsnowmane]

Great thread, everyone!:cool:

As a Linguistics major, I enjoy this kind of stuff immensely! Keep it coming!

~Swifty

[Anarie]

It will be coming if the books will be coming too, if you follow me.

[swiftsnowmane]

LOL, yes I follow, Anarie!:p

[Moxie]

Much has been said about Hermione Granger's first name, but Granger is also the surname of the leader of the little group of book-memorizing hoboes in Fahrenheit 451. If this is intentional, we can only hope Hermione has help when she needs to rebuild a destroyed civilization using her memorized book-knowledge. :eek: ;)

[LuthienElentari]

I read in this really cool book called "The Fantastic Worlds of Harry Potter" and in the book it said The writing at the top of the mirror says "I Show you not your face bout your hearts greatest Desire" isn't that interesting.






Hugs

LE

[Pilgrim Grey]

Yep, that's right, just read it backwards and that's what it says (Erised is Desire backwards) :)

[Colli]

Void diving again. :D

Mythology is so cool.. we're studying Greek Mythology in World Lit (getting ready to read The Iliad) and half the gods and goddesses I knew before hand were because of Harry Potter. :p

Someone mentioned that Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom. Unless I'm mixing her up with someone else, she (and Athena, her Greek counterpart) was also goddess of war and handicrafts. And her emblem was the snowy owl. (I think)

(edit) I've been researching some more. I don't remember this being posted, but I'll go back and check.

Padma means "lotus" in Sanskrit. In Hindu myth this was another name of both the hero Rama (Means "pleasing" in Sanskrit. This is another name of the Hindu god Vishnu. It was also borne by the hero of the 'Ramayana', a Hindu epic, which tells of the abduction of his wife Sita by the demon king Ravana, and his efforts to recapture her) and the goddess Lakshmi. (Means "sign, mark" in Sanskrit. She is the Hindu goddess of good luck and prosperity, and the wife of Vishnu. Her symbol is the lotus flower.)

Parvati means "daughter of the mountain" in Sanskrit. In Hindu mythology Parvati is one of the many names of the wife of Shiva (the Hindu god of destruction and restoration. His aspect is usually terrifying, but it can also be gentle)

Ginny - It's a nickname for Virginia, which means "maid" or "virgin". According to legend, she was a Roman woman killed by her father so as to keep her a virgin.

:eek: Ginny had better watch her back. ;)

also..

Arabella: "beautiful altar" (Italian)

Rita: nickname for Margarita (Spanish: "a pearl", a sweet alcoholic drink) Which reminds me of Pearl from The Scarlet Letter who was a terror, but that's unrelated. ;) More for Margaret: Derived from Greek margarites meaning "pearl". Saint Margaret was martyred at Antioch in the 4th century. She is the patron saint of expectant mothers. Another famous bearer was Queen Margaret I of Denmark, who united Denmark, Sweden, and Norway in the 14th century.

Ron: from Ronald, "advisor to the king"

Percy: "piercing the valley"

Fred: "peaceful ruler" (a misnomer if I've ever heard one)

George: "farmer" (ditto)

Molly: comes from Mary, which means "bitter"

Bill: comes from William, which means "protector" (Well, he works for a bank, doesn't he?)

Charlie: comes from Charles, which means "manly" or "farmer". Two farmers in one family? ;) Odd.

Viktor: victor

These two blow me away..

Lucius: "bringer of light" DEFINITELY NOT! Unless JKR's got something up her sleeve... :p I find it strange that a name that sounds so close to Lucifer would mean that.

Tom: from Thomas, "a twin"
~ ok, she had to pick Tom to make it spell "I am Lord Voldemort". More than likely no special significance there. ;) I couldn't find Marvolo.
Yet.

[amrael]

Lucius: "bringer of light" DEFINITELY NOT! Unless JKR's got something up her sleeve... I find it strange that a name that sounds so close to Lucifer would mean that.



I shouldn't be surprised, Colli, considering that Lucifer means exactly 'bringer of light'.

[Colli]

Really? Well I guess that makes sense, with the Luc- suffix.

Shows how much I know. ;)

But that just furthur confuses me... does anyone know Lucifer's story?

(edit)
I decided I didn't like the meaning of Percy (piercing the valley), so I went out on a limb and said that it sounds like Perseus, a Greek hero.

Possibly derived from Greek pertho meaning "to destroy". Perseus was a hero in Greek legend. He killed Medusa, who was so ugly that anyone who gazed upon her was turned to stone, by looking at her in the reflection of his shield and slaying her in her sleep.

It's a shame Harry's already killed the basilisk. ;)

[Seriphus]

Someone pointed out a while ago that most of the Weasley's have Royal names:

Arthur
Molly- from Mary
Bill- from William
Charlie- from Charles
George
Ginny -from Virginia i.e. Elizabeth I the Virgin Queen.

Don't know about Percy, Fred and Ron, although Ronald:"advisor to the king".


Serphy

[Alcarinque]

Originally posted by Colli
Really? Well I guess that makes sense, with the Luc- suffix.

Shows how much I know. ;)

But that just furthur confuses me... does anyone know Lucifer's story?

(edit)
I decided I didn't like the meaning of Percy (piercing the valley), so I went out on a limb and said that it sounds like Perseus, a Greek hero.


It's a shame Harry's already killed the basilisk. ;)

Hello, new to posting in this section of the board.

Lucifer's story quickly, I don't have much time.:)

Lucifer was the shining light of heaven and second to God. His name has actually existed for hundreds and hundreds of years but is from latin (i think) where it means 'the morning star'. This meaning was kept into the biblical accounts and thus lucifer is not 'dark or evil' but rather the fallen brightest star in heaven. This s maintained by later writers such as Milton where the brightness and light of lucifer/satan are maintained. However it should be noted that through this the old route meaning of the word which meant light etc. has been granted an insidious sound to modern ears that suggest lucifer which might explain the name of Lucius Malfoy.

[Colli]

Thanks, Alcarinque! Welcome to Lit Discussion. :D

Seriphus, that's an observation I missed. :D "Fred" is a nickname for Frederick. Several rulers of Prussia, Germany and the Holy Roman Empire have borne this name, including Frederick II of Germany and Frederick the Great.

Percy might be a short form of Percival. In Arthurian legend Percival was a chivalrous knight who was given a glimpse of the Holy Grail.

Still no clue about Ron/Ronald, except the advisor to the king part. :D

More:

Roger (Davies): "famous spear"

Harry: "home ruler", "leader of the army"

Susan (Bones): Lily

Neville: "new town"

Cedric: "Chief" Invented by Sir Walter Scott for a character in his novel 'Ivanhoe'. Apparently he based it on the actual name Cerdic, of unknown meaning, the name of the legendary founder of the kingdom of Wessex. Cedric is also sometimes said to mean "bounty spectacle" from the Welsh name Cedrych, or "lord of wars" in Old English, but these theories are not likely true.

Amos: "to carry", "troubled"

Oliver: "elf army", "olive", "olive tree"

Angelina: "little angel" or "little messenger"

Katie: "pure", "virginal"

Alicia: "of noble birth"

[Nandor Nymph]

Am obsessed with names, fun thread!!

Colli, you posted it already but.....

It so funny the Oliver also means "Elf friend" *giddy*

Am entralled by (Tolkien) Elves...and Oliver. Yes, indeed book Oliver! Crazy Scotsman :swoon:

Anyhow! Superd site.

Oh, read the whole thread and I saw some meaning for Voldemort, yet I don't think it was said that in French the direct translation would be "Stealer of death"

Plus, "Malfoy" in French is "bad soul"

[Ravenclaw]

Vol de Mort en Anglais est Thief/Flight of Death. Mais Madame Rowling a dit c'est le Flight of Death. Pour quoi, je ne sais pas.

En Anglais, les mots Mal et Foi est Bad Faith.

Ah, oui, comme vous avez dit, biensur, les mots Fleur et De La Cour en Anglais est flower of the cour.

But of course, I could be wrong. For those of you who don't speak French (thank the stars you don't have my French teacher) I just explained some already explained French translations. Voldemort, Fleur Delacour, and Malfoy.

What about Millicent (as in Bullstrode): Strong Build.

Ha!

Ronald as "advisor to the king" and Harry as "leader" makes sense. Ron advises Harry all the time. The advice might not always be intelligent, but it's advice, right?

[Colli]

It seems that Rowling is using less mythological names, but I could be wrong. :)

Off the top of my head, here are some new names:

Kreacher - sounds like "creature", which is a rather impersonal name for what he is. :)

Luna Lovegood - "Luna" translates "moon".. I'm sensing a connection with one Remus Lupin. :)

Anyway, there's also Umbridge and Tonks and all the new people... maybe later I'll be less lazy and I'll look them up. :D

[Athelas]

Nymphadora..hmmm...refers to the nymph stage of an insect and therefore metamorphesis...or some other kind of nymph:D

[Mirdan]

say...Phineas is the name of that guy who had that horrible accident -- Phineas Gage. a tamping iron lodged itself through his head or something. i think he had a lobotomy, and after this accident, he started having mood swings because of the damage in his brain...

[Voronwe]

Originally posted by Colli
Anyway, there's also Umbridge and Tonks and all the new people... maybe later I'll be less lazy and I'll look them up. :D

Umbridge, as is widely noted, is a play on umbrage -- to take umbrage at something is to take offense. Dolores probably from dolor 'grief.'

Percy's middle name is Ignatius. St. Ignatius Loyola was the founder of the Jesuits (I attend a Jesuit university so I hear his name a lot! ;)) What this has to do with anything I have no clue. ;)

I'm fairly sure Dumbledore's middle names have mythic/historical significance but I can't remember what they all were, except that one of them was Percival, who's been referenced elsewhere in the thread as one of the knights who found the Holy Grail (in some versions he's the Grail knight, but in the best-known versions that's Galahad).

(And Brian, of course. Maybe a ref to Monty Python's Life of Brian? Perhaps not. ;))

Sybill Trelawney's great- (great?) grandmother was Cassandra -- the name of a Trojan prophetess, daughter of King Priam, whom nobody ever believed. She turns up in a lot of Matter of Troy stuff as a doomsayer. ;)

[Elwen]

Wow - what a pearl dived out of the void here... :)

Some ideas (partly looking back to the older parts of the thread)...



Brian is Gaelic (? some sort of Celtic anyway) for King or leader. I bet the Pythons knew that, too!

Percy - isn't that short for Perceval? Which gets us to a pretty cool mythical character.... Parcival, who ultimately ends up as king of the fortress where the Holy Grail is kept.

Lucius is a very common Roman first name. it is somehow connected to lux = light. Lucifer is the Latin name for the Morning star ('bringer of light' makes sense in this context). I still have no idea why it ended up as the name of Satan :confused:

Narcissa - this isn't just named after Narcissus who was turned into this flower (according to Ovid's Metamorphoses anyway) - it is also the flower of Hades, the Greek God of death!


avra kedavra: this is very close to 'abra kadabra' that standard phrase used in German at least when a magical spell is indicated (kids would ress up as wizards - pre Harry Potter - and shout that to sound important and magical :) but as far as I know it goes back to the middle ages and has some more serious roots in medieval superstition or perhaps even in more serious ancient traditions)

As far as I know the exact background of the phrase is not known. Hebrew (Aramaic) has been suggested for the first part, while the second part is almost certainly from Latin cadaver - corpse.

This is nearly as clever as the joke in Tolkien's 'A cow jumped over the moon' poem - suggesting that we muggles have some memory that echoes 'the real thing' in another world. So in germany at least kids are shouting a fain echo of the worst of the unforgiveable curses when they play at being a wizard.


I wonder, actually, whether the 'Abrakadabra' phrase will just disappear... and every time people see it written in earlier books they will think of the avra kedavra curse!







Nymphadora Tonks is strangely similar to Isadora Duncan - a famous dancer (about whom I don't know much else) of the mid-20th century.



Elwen

[Pilgrim Grey]

Originally posted by Voronwe
Percy's middle name is Ignatius. St. Ignatius Loyola was the founder of the Jesuits (I attend a Jesuit university so I hear his name a lot! ;)) What this has to do with anything I have no clue. ;)
Weren't the Jesuits kinda... brutal... in their defence/promotion of Christianity? Although that's most evocative of Umbrige, Percy also decides to side close-mindedly with the Ministry (hmmm, I never thought of that - what happens to him and the rest of the Weasleys now that Dumbledore has been proven right?)

[alqua]

Bellatrix: Warlike, a female warrior (Bella: beautiful)

Nymphadora: Nympha=a young woman

[Elwen]

Actually, Nyphadora means 'gift of the Nymph(s)' - the same as some names ending in -dor(e) (Theodore - gift of God, Isidore = gift of Isis etc).
Nyphadora is very unusal, though.

From ancient Greek. Nymphe + doron (=gift)


Nymphs aren't just any young women - they are ancient Greek divine beings (lesser Goddesses, you might say) - the spirits of springs and running water. :)




Umbridge's first name is Dolores (quite common in Spain, I think). This comes from Latin 'dolor' - pain (though the name refers to the pain suffered by Mary when her son dies, not to *inflicting* pain on others!!).

How fitting. :eek:



Elwen

[Colli]

:) I'm watching the (not-so-live-now) webcast thing from Albert Hall.. and Rowling pointed out that "Mundungus" is an old word for tobacco. :)

[xKatiexBellx]

I know this is from quite a while ago but I just stumbled over this thread now and thought I might reply at least once:)

Originally posted by Ritkuli
Fleur Delacour - Fleur means flower in french. "De" means "of" or "from". La means the and Cour means Court. Couer in French is heart. Put together it's either "Flower of the Heart," "Flower of the Court," "Flower from the Heart," or "Flower from the Court."
I always thought it was Flower from the Heart... I never noticed there was no "e" in cour.:D

[Mirdan]

i just realized something...Grimmauld Place sounds a lot like "Grim Old Place" :LOL:

some members of the Black family have ancient-sounding names, so just for fun i did a google search on some of them and found out that many of the ones mentioned in OotP are names of celestial bodies:

according to this (http://einstein.stcloudstate.edu/Dome/clicks/bellatrix.html) website, the Latin name Bellatrix is a star that can be found on one of Orion's shoulders; it means "The Female Warrior" and is sometimes known as "The Amazon Star." rather goes very well with one of Voldie's most loyal followers, doesn't it?

Regulus is another star found at the heart of the constellation of Leo. it's another Latin name, which means "The Little King;" sometimes this star is known as Rex (also Latin, meaning "The King"). because it is found at the center of Leo, Regulus is sometimes called Cor Leonis, "The Heart of the Lion." i wonder if this is significant in that Regulus seemed to have been the more favored son than Sirius...

Andromeda is a constellation of the Northern Hemisphere in autumn. Andromeda was the daughter of King Cepheus who used her as a sacrifice to appease Poseidon after Cepheus's wife Cassiopeia boasted she was more beautiful that the Nereids. she was recused by Perseus who married her later on.

Narcissa doesn't have a celestial name, though. however, she named her son Draco "The Dragon", which is also another constellation. legend tells it that during the war between the Titans and the Olympians, the Dragon fought on the side of the Titans. sometime towards the end of the war the Dragon confronted Athena, who then grabbed its tail and flung the Dragon up into the heavens. it never made it back on land. bouncing ferret, anyone? ;)

then there's Sirius, brightest of the stars in the sky, the Dog Star -- Padfoot! :cool:



Source: Constellation List (http://einstein.stcloudstate.edu/Dome/clicks/constlist.html)

[Pilgrim Grey]

I think we should try to collate all of these names and meanings into one big post... can one of the mods edit something into the first post?

[Elwen]

I guess the wholoe thing could get collected for something on the front page - a bit like they do it over at CoE. Does anyone know how this is organised over there?

Interesting idea, GP. But who has got the time for it all?


Elwen

[Voronwe]

Oh, another one I forgot about, which is odd as I thought it was highly cool when I ran across it -- the name Wizengamot is Old English and literally means "meeting of the wise" (probably the assumed meaning, in context, is "meeting of wizards" -- wizard is of course derived from wise.)

My department, btw, has a mock-conference for grad students every year called "Mickelgemote" -- the official, if loose, translation is "meeting of the bigwigs." ;)

Elwen:
Lucifer is the Latin name for the Morning star ('bringer of light' makes sense in this context). I still have no idea why it ended up as the name of Satan

I believe it's supposed to be what he was called before he fell?

Pilgrim Grey:
Weren't the Jesuits kinda... brutal... in their defence/promotion of Christianity?

IIRC they're associated with the Inquisition... :eek:

[Amberion]

I was working at reception today and one of the customers who came in was named ..................... Tonkes

I kid you not:cool: :cool: :cool:

[Lanen]

Voronwe (hi!) - you could be right with the Jesuits and the Inquisition, but closely related to that is the fact that the Jesuits have always been celebrated for their absolute adherence to logic; to rules, in fact. Now if that isn't just Percy down to the ground.

Lucifer was the name of the brightest angel in heaven, until he became proud, and rebelled against God, and was thrown down. He was the Morning Star when in heaven, and presumably kept his name in Hell. Satan is simply Hebrew for 'adversary'.

And Elwen (hi!) - I love your comparison of Nymphadora with Isadora Duncan the dancer, who was reknowned for her incredible grace and lightness. Those who watched her dance said she seemed to float on the air. Just *slightly* different from desperately clumsy Tonks! (And I quite like Tonks. Nice kid, rather like a gawky puppy at this stage, but her heart is in the right place.)

[Mirdan]

i just noticed this today...Kreacher sounds like "creature" :cool:

[Swendula]

My big fat dictionary specifically calls a nymph a graceful young woman, of course contrasting with Tonks.

Umbridge I actually came across umbra before umbradge. Umbra is the darkest part of the shadow of a lunar eclipse. I was freaking out slightly at the implications of this (this was before I got to the part where she was introduced in the book).

Mirdan...I knew Regulus was a star, I just couldn't remember where, thanks for finding that. I kept thinking of Rigel, which is in Orion. Nifty resource too.

The phrase 'beyond the veil' refers to death. I had to confirm this on yahoo this morning.

I actually looked up all the names of the wizards & witches who escorted Harry to Grimmauld Place, naturally I have forgotten most of them, though I don't think there was much that was significant. Yes I am obsessed with these things :D

Apologies if this post is a mess, I'm operating on 4 hours sleep here after finishing reading. I'm going through more slowly the next time (well, after I sleep some that is) and see if I can find anything else :)

[Pippin]

Just to stand up and defend the Jesuits for a bit – they´re not exactly the ones behind the Inquisition, historically, since the order was only founded in 1534 when the Inquisition had already been hard at work for centuries. If you want to blame a particular religious order, blame the Dominicans. :p

But the Jesuits have always been known – justly or unjustly – for their strict sense of loyalty to the order (rather than to your friends or family in case of conflict), for their ambition in the intellectual as well as the political field, for missionary zeal, for a love of science and logic – they´re supposed to be really sharp minds that you better hadn´t get into an argument with.

Maybe that´s not exactly Percy but it certainly is what would *appeal* to Percy.

[Voronwe]

Originally posted by Pippin
Just to stand up and defend the Jesuits for a bit – they´re not exactly the ones behind the Inquisition, historically, since the order was only founded in 1534 when the Inquisition had already been hard at work for centuries. If you want to blame a particular religious order, blame the Dominicans. :p


Hey, I said associated with, didn't I? ;) I've got nothing against the Jesuits...after all, I do, effectively, work for them. ;) And agreed on the rest of your post.

[Marchwarden]

Anyone have any luck with Mimbulus Mimbltonia? Mimbulus sounds like a Latin diminutive, but I could not find either mimbulus or mimbus in my dictionaries.

I'm convinced that the plant is a future plot hook, so if the name is a clue, I'd be keen to unravel it.

[Elwen]

Right. I checked OED and the web (Google) for Mimbleton .. there is a poster on some random messageboard called that. That's it.

Mimbulus gets us to two Harry Potter sites,
and a Mimbu is some monster on some computer game...

Mimble and Mimbus turns up as user name and brand name for random things. Nothing obvious, really.

Are we missing something?


Elwen

[Marchwarden]

Originally posted by Elwen
Right. I checked OED and the web (Google) for Mimbleton .. there is a poster on some random messageboard called that. That's it.

Mimbulus gets us to two Harry Potter sites,
and a Mimbu is some monster on some computer game...

Mimble and Mimbus turns up as user name and brand name for random things. Nothing obvious, really.

Are we missing something?


Elwen

Mimbleton could easily be some obscure subcommunity, I suppose. I thought JRK might have altered a letter, so I checked for Membus/membulus, mintus/mintulus and so on. No Latin dictionary matches, and trying Google on random similar spellings seemed unlikely to be productive.

This one could be an inside joke. Perhaps there's a gardening & flower shop called Mimbleton's that JRK has seen.

It could also be a purely made-up name. If the plant is highly important, JRK might not want to tip her hand too readily.

[Kristin]

I've found the connection!

In SS/PS, Uncle Vernon says something that sounds like "Mimblewimble."

;) :D

[Pippin]

"Mimbletonia" sounds like it was named after someone called Mimbleton (whom we might still meet), or after the place where it grows or was discovered. That´s how plants often get their botanical names. I wonder if Neville´s plant has a "normal" common name as well - maybe something we have heard before?



Check Fleur Delacour´s recent posts in the "Hugging Remus" thread for some amazing discoveries concerning London street names and HP characters! :D

[Fleurdelacour]

Amazing discovereies *blushes* I get awfully bored, so I read maps, and find places called Grimauldi Square near Kings Cross :D

I found something else whilst in a German Underground Hosital whist on holiday...

In the Second World War there was a man who worked for the Nazi Secret Keepers in Jersey, his name was Leuintenant Bode.

Bode worked for the Department of Mysteries... :) Only good thing about the holiday!

[Voronwe]

Originally posted by Fleurdelacour
Amazing discovereies *blushes* I get awfully bored, so I read maps, and find places called Grimauldi Square near Kings Cross :D

Heh. You know, I used to read the dictionary while bored, so I guess reading maps isn't any worse. ;) It doesn't really work with an online OED, but free OED access makes it a worthy tradeoff.

Random Potter nomenclature trivia o'the day: There's a DE named Rookwood, which was also the surname of one of the conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot... :D

[Pippin]

Originally posted by Voronwe

Random Potter nomenclature trivia o'the day: There's a DE named Rookwood, which was also the surname of one of the conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot... :D
So how does that tie in with Fawkes? :D

[xKatiexBellx]

I just thought today... there's the Pensieve, it's something you put your thoughts in... Penser is the verb to think in french... could that be why she called it a Pensieve?

[Fleurdelacour]

Pensive also means thinking in, well English!

I was doing a big of light research on mythology from an acient copy of a reader's digest book I found dusting on my bookshelf!

Andromea, Tonks's mother was also a chrachter in mythology:

Andromeda - Daughter of Cepheus, king of Aethiopia. Herm mother Cassiopeia claimed she was more beautiful then the Nereids (sea-nymphs) where upon Poseidon sent a sea monster to ravage the Aethiopian countryside. The oracle of Ammon which Cepheus consulted, declared that only if Andromeda herself were given to the beast and her father chained her to a rock. There she was found by the hero Perseus, who slew the monster and obtained her as his wife.

Nymphs too!

[Lanen]

Er - gang, ever heard of mimulus? Common plant in British rock gardens. Sometimes called the shy plant (not sure why)

Just my $.02 :)