Welcome to Harry Potter Name Meanings. This section
contains a list of many of the Harry Potter characters in the series. We've
compiled a list of meanings of these characters' first and last names.
You'll find that some name meanings are traced from Old English roots, or
from other languages such as Latin, German, or Hebrew, though some of them
are meanings straight from the dictionary.
Adalbert: "Adal"
is Old High German meaning "noble" or "aristocratic."
Alastor:
Alastair comes from Alexander meaning "protector of mankind."*
Albus: Derived from the Latin
word meaning "white": Albus, alba, or album (Albus for a male). White
is symbolic of goodness and purity, though perhaps it was because of his white
beard; Albus can mean wisdom also.
Amos:
Means "bearer to." (Diggory means "lost one" (Put
them together to get "bearer to the lost one" implying Cedric)); In
Hebrew, Amos means "to be troubled"
Arabella:
In Latin, "ara bellis" means "beautiful altar."
Aragog:
the giant spider in the woods, now here's a complicated one: Arachnid is a
spider, right? Well, Gog is the name of a legendary giant.
Argus: Argus is a creature from Greek Mythology who had a hundred eyes and was ever
watchful; Protector of Io as Io was turned into a cow after falling in love
with Hera's husband, Zeus.*
Armando:
Comes from Armand meaning "of the army."*
Arsenius:
Derived from arsenic, a highly poisonous metallic element.
Bathilda:
German for "heroine."
Beauxbatons:
In French means "nice wands."
Binns:
A bin is a large storage container; Prof. Binn's is a container of knowledge,
however, many students may reference his knowledge as "rubbish"*
Cho Chang:
Cho Chang is a Asian name. Chang is one of the most common last name in Chinese
world. Cho means autumn in Chinese (since there are different Chinese
phonetic-spelling systems between China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, it's easy to say
that Cho Chang originally came from Taiwan: the spelling of Mainland China for
Cho Chang should be Qiu Zhang or the spelling of Hong Kong should be Chau
Cheung" And in Japanese Cho also means both "born at dawn" and
"butterfly." (Thanks to Videl K.)
Cornelius: Latin
for "horn."
Dedalus:
In Greek mythology, Dedalus was a craftsman and inventor.
Diggory:
Means "Lost one;" A nickname for an Australian or New Zealand
soldier.
Dippet:
Dip can mean to put something into something else; to or take something out of
something; or to lower or raise something; A dip is also a fool.*
Draco:
In ancient Greek days, Draco was a cruel Athenian lawmaker. From this we get our
expression "draconian laws", meaning unnecessarily harsh laws; Draco is a snake constellation. It looks like a dragon but it's a
snake - MOSH (Museum of Science & History); Also, in Latin Draco means
"Dragon" or "Snake."
Dumbledore:
Means bumblebee! J.K. Rowling says that it "seemed to suit the
headmaster, because one of his passions is music and I imagined him walking
around humming to himself."
Emeric: The name of a
saint who lived in Hungary from 1007-1031; "Emery" can mean
"ruler of work."
Fawkes:
Guy Fawkes was part of a group of conspirators (and the only one who got
busted) who tried to blow up England's Houses of Parliament in 1605.
Since then, "Guy Fawkes Day" has been celebrated in England with
bonfires and fireworks.
Figg:
The fig tree was an important source of food to the Romans and Hebrews; It is
the tree under which Buddhists reach enlightenment.
Filch:
"Filch" means to steal.
Filius:
Latin for "Son of."*
Firenze:
Firenze is an Italian City.
Fletcher: A person who makes arrows.
Fletchley:
Derived from "Fletcher" to mean "a person who makes
arrows."
Fleur Delacour:
In French, "Fleur" means Flower. "De" means "of".
"La" means "The". and "Cour" means
"Court" Put it all together and you get "Flower of The
Court"
Flitwick:
To "flit" is to move quickly from one location to another; A wick is
a loosely woven strand of fibers use in candles and oil lamps.*
Florean:
"Florian" means "flower"
Fortescue:
From Sir Adrian Fortescue, a man beheaded in 1539 for not being loyal to the
Pope.
Fudge:
To dodge issues. If you remember Cornelius dodged the issue of the
return of Voldemort
Gilderoy: The name of a famous highwayman of ballad fame
who was reputedly handsome; "Gilde" means to be decorated with a thin
layer of gold; "Roy" is French for "roi," or king.*
Godric:
"Godric" comes from Old English meaning "power of God"
Goshawk:
A goshawk is a large species of hawk with rounded wings, a long tail, and brown
or gray feathers.
Grindelwald:
A city in Switzerland; In German, "wald" means "forest;"
"Grindan" in Old English means "to grind;"
"Grindel" can mean "angry;" Grindelwald could also have
been taken from "Grendel," a murderous monster of humanoid form who
was once defeated by the hero known as Beowulf in a medieval story.
Gryffindor: Gryffindor
comes from "griffin:" a fierce, legendary beast with the body of a
lion and the head and wings of an eagle.
Harry: Harry is a
medieval English version of the name Henry, "ruler of the home;"
It can also be a nickname for Harold, meaning "army ruler."
Hedwig:
Holy Hedwig lived in Germany, and worked for the education of orphan children.
Helga:
"Helge" is from Old Norse heilagr, meaning "prosperous" or
"brave."
Hermes: Hermes is the name of the Greek messenger of the Gods!
Hermione:
Ms. Rowling says that she wanted Hermione (her-my-uh-nee) to have an odd name so
that real-life little girls wouldn't be teased because they were know-it-alls
like Hermione and shared the name (You know that type, heck I'm a muted version
of Hermione, myself) Hermione was also a name used in Shakespeare's "A
Winter Tale" Also, in Greek Mythology Hermione is Ares and Aphrodite's only
daughter. Hermione is a daughter of Helen of Troy and King Menelaus of Sparta.
She was engaged to Orestes, but married Achilles (not the heel). Soon after,
Orestes killed Achilles to become her new husband
Hooch:
Hooch is slang for hard liquor; It comes from Hoochihoo, a liquor used by the
Hutsnuwu Indians; Hooch was also used as slang by American fighters in Vietnam
for "a hut."*
Igor:
Igor is the Russian form of the Norse "Ivor" meaning "bow
warrior."
Irma:
Comes from German "irmen," meaning "whole" or
"complete."*
James: Means "supplanter,"
the one who takes the place of something else, especially by force.
Jigger:
A jigger is a liquid measurement often used in measuring liquor, or 1.5 oz.
Karkaroff:
"Kark" is close to the Polish "karac," meaning
"punishment."
Kettleburn:
A cauldron is a type of metal kettle.*
Krum:
Khan Krum was one of the first rulers of the Bulgarian tsar from 803 - 814 a.d., and he defeated emperor
Niciforus I Genik of Byzantine, captured him, and ordered his skull to be made in a golden goblet, out of which he drank wine.
He also enlarged the territory of Bulgaria; "Krumm" in German means
twisted, or crooked.
