Fun Facts
Name Origins:
Harry's surname is taken from JK's friend Sean Potter, and she chose Harry because it is her favourite boy's Christian name.
The Weasley's surname is similar to weasel and where does a weasel live in? A burrow! And where do the Weasley's live, The Burrow. Weasel's also are red in fur coloring, just like the Weasley's.
Draco means both dragon and snake in Latin. Malfoy also has Latin roots from the word maleficus meaning evil-doer. His father, Lucius, is similar to Lucifer and his mother Narcissa's name is derived from a Greek myth.
Dumbledore means bumblebee in old English where as Albus means white in Latin.
Severus is Latin for harsh but Severus was also know as a North African born Roman Emperor known for been civil, judicial and milatry reformed. To snape someone means to hurt and rebuke them.
Remus in Roman Mythology was the Son of Mars, who had a twin brother Romulus who founded Rome. Remus in Chinese mythology was an abandoned infant who was given divine protection to allow them to complete their sacred mission. Lupin(e) is Latin and releates to wolves or someone resembling a wolf.
Slytherin in English can be broken up to mean clever, cunning and skillful inside.
Sirius is the "dog" binary star in the constellation Caris Major, and appears as the brightest star. And another meaning of Black is something that is associated with bad conditions or misfortune.
Mrs. Norris is the name of a nosey woman in "Mansfield Park" by Jayne Austen which just so happens to be one of JK's favourite books.
Peeves means to make someone feel annoyed, irritated or resentful.
Voldemort in French means Flight of Death.
Pettigrew is similar to petit in French, meaning small, so his name can can roughly translate to small grew which happened from him transforming from a rat into a human.
The Granger Movement aimed to improve the social, economical and political status of farmers, just like Hermione Granger tried to do this for the house elves.
Krum was a Bulgarian General that inflcited devestating defeats on his opponents. Sounds similar to the Bulgarian Viktor Krum we know on the Quidditch field.
Parvati is a part of Indian Mythology and her surname Patil is also of Indian origin.
Argus was a Greek god who had a hundred eyes, therefore was always looking for something! Sounds very familiar to Filch who is always on the lookout for misbehaving students.
Dobby is an old English name for an elf who would secretly perform household tasks in the middle of the night.
The difficult spell Expecto Patronum means "to expect a protector."
Morsmorde, Voldmort's summoning spell for his Death Eaters, means take a bite out of death in French.
A three headed dog called Cerberus in Greek Mythology was the protector to Hades (barrier between dead and alive). Fluffy in the books was the three headed dog who was the protector for the Philosopher's Stone which is an elixer of life.
Fawkes, Dumbledore's pet phoenix takes his name from Guy Fawkes who in 1605 tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament with gunpowder. Although hung, drawn and quatered, he has parallels with Fawkes because he is thrown onto bonfires today by children on Novemner 5th. This is similar to how phoenixes burst into flames and are reborn from the ashes.
Fleur Delacour is French for Flower of the Court which is a noblewoman. Beaubaxton is also French for beautiful wands which suggests that the sort of people there are associated with beauty and dainty.
The Fidelus Charm comes from the Latin word fidelus meaning faithful/trustworthy/trust.
Ernie and Stan of The Knight Bus were named after Jo's grandfathers.
Ludo comes from the latin word ludus meaning game.
Minerva is the Latin goddess of Wisdom and Arts.
Sybill is a Greek prophetess, just like Sybil Trelawney, who sometimes does make accurate prophecies and predictions.
Some Fun Facts:
Curiously the names of the balls in the Quidditch form the word Quidditch. Quaffle, Bludger, Bludger and Snitch.
When Hagrid gave Dudley a tail, the Dursleys took him to a private hospital where staff were very discreet. They told them that a wart had got out of control.
"erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi" means on the Mirror of Erised, "I show not your face but your hearts desire." Magic Mirrors have been around throughout history in stories from Merlin's mirror, the mirror in Snow White and the magical mirror in "The Cantebury Tales."
About £3 equals 1 Galleon, 5.6 Sickles equals £1 and 163.6 knuts equals £1.
"Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus" means Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon. Latin plays a prominent part in the book as many of the spells, incantations etc. derive from Latin origin.
Cats in the books have hidden meanings and Fluffy is currently somewhere in the Forbidden Forrest.
Wizards have a much longer life expectancy than Muggles.
Nicholas Flamel and his wife, Pernelle, did actually exist. They were actually alchemists in the 12th century and were thought to be the creators of the Philosopher's Stone whcih was able to turn things into gold. It is also believed that Flamel created the Elixer of Life just like in the first Harry Potter book.
Hermione's birthday is September 19th, Ron's is March 1st and Harry's of course is 31st July, the same as Jo's birthday.
Ginny is the first Weasley girl to be born in several generations.
The number 7 is a very important and magical number. It is also the most powerful number.
JK Rowling reveals:
Joanne would want her wand to contain a phoenix feather just like Harry's.
Her Boggart would be a spider, she hates spiders just like Ron does.
She would want to be an otter if she were an Animagus. That's her favourite animal and claims that she would find it depressing if she were a slug. She's love to be able to fly.
Her favourite saying is Draco dormeins nunquam titallandus.
Her favourite passage from the books is the chapter on the Mirror of Erised in Philosopher's Stone and the ending of Goblet of Fire is the part that she is most proud of. Her favourite book though is Chamber of Secrets but she thought Prisoner of Azkaban was the most fun to write.
If JK Rowling were a wizard, she'd be Hermione but she would also like to be Dumbledore though because of his wisdom!
Her favourite wizard candies are Chocolate Frogs because then she could collect the cards.
She would not want a cameo in the Harry Potter movie, she hates been on-screen.
If she drunk the Poljuice Potion, she would like to become Tony Blair for an hour, to implement her own policies!
Foreign Words:
Buckbeak our favourite Hippogriff, is Fierobecco in the Italian Books.
What would your Hambus turn into? That's a Boggart in Norway.
Moaning Myrtle sounds much more cheerful in Poland, her name there is Jeczaca Marta.
Harry Potter goes to Hogwarts but not in Hungary. He and his schoolfriends all attend Roxfort.
Fancey a game of Rumpeldunk? That's Quidditch in Norway.
Hagrid's boarhound Fang is called the friendly Crockadur in France.
Harry's favourite person in the world of course is his cousin, Dirk Duffeling, that is Dudley Dursley in Dutch.
The fastest broom is the L'eclair de feu. Well in France it is; the English equivalent is the Firebolt.
Our favourite Potions Master, Severus Sneip. That is what Snape is called in Russia.
Fred Weasley is a Slagman and so is George! That's a Beater to English-speaking people but obviously not in Sweden.
The Hungarians have a simpler way of saying He-who-must-not-be named; Tudodki.
A Howler is a Wyjec in Polish.
In Czech, The Mirror of Erised sounds much more exotic as Zrcadlo z Erisedu.
In Italy, they remember things using their Ricordella - a Remembrall to you and me.
