Harry Potter Name Origins #2
H a r r
y a n d f r i e n d s
Harry
- J.K. Rowling's favorite boy's name. The name Harry is of
Anglo-Saxon origin
and means "power." There was also a
magician named Harry Houdini in the 1900s.
Hermione
- Means "well-born,"
"earthy," or "stone."
Refers to peony-type flowers.
The feminine version of Hermes. In Greek mythology,
was often known as the patron
saint of high magic (no surprise our Hermione is so
gifted). She was the daughter of
Helen of Troy and King Menelaus of Sparta. In the
Aeneid, Hermione was kidnapped
by Pyrrhus, but her loving Orestes came and murdered Pyrrhus
while he was praying.
Hermione is also a character in
Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale. The
character is
accused of adultery and dies before
the intermission. At the end of the play she is
brought out as a statue, and
finally returns to life at the very end of the
play. A
possible connection to
her petrification
in Chamber
of Secrets?
Ron
- Interesting when taken in conjunction with Arthur. He is
the advisor to the King.
Comparisons can be made here between Ron being an
advisor to Harry on all of his
choices and adventures. Both Ron and Hermione listen to Harry's
plan and then either
agree with or tell them
why they think his
idea is not a good
one.
Ginny -
"Ginevra," an Italian female and woman of
the people, her name means
"Juniper" as in evergreen tree. There is an old myth
about a bride named Ginevra,
who playfully hid in a trunk on her wedding day. The lid fell,
burying her alive; and
eventually her skeleton was discovered. This could relate to
Ginny being taken into
the Chamber of Secrets where her "skeleton
would lie forever." However,
J.K.
Rowling has also said that she picked the name
because she wanted something
different and
special for
the only
Weasley
girl!
Hagrid - J.K.
Rowling said: "Hagrid is also
another old English word meaning if
you
were Hagrid, it’s a dialect word meaning
you'd had a bad night. Hagrid’s a big
drinker.
He has a lot of bad nights." Grid was a Norse giantess known
for having a terrible temper.
"Ha" is a variant of the Old West Norse name element
"half." So, "Ha-Grid" may just mean
"Half-Grid" or more notably
"Half-Giant." "Haggard" can
also mean "appearing worn and
exhausted, gaunt; wild or distraught in
appearance; a disheveled individual." From
the
Mayor of Casterbridge by
Thomas Hardy, the Old
English term "hag-rid" means
"indigestion" (not surprising
considering all the weird things
Hagrid eats). Found in
the exact
same paragraph
as
"Dumbledore."
Coincidence?
N e v i l
l e - O l d F r e n c h
f o r " f r o m
t h e n e w f
a r m l a n d . "
-mugglenet.com
