Albus
[Albus Dumbledore] - "white"
in Latin (just like his beard! Well, silver...)
Argus
[Argus Filch] - Argus
was a Greek God who had a hundred eyes, and was therefore always
on the lookout, since he never closed more than half his eyes
while he slept.
Bagman
[Ludo Bagman] - someone
who collects money from illegal activities (gambling)
Beauxbatons
- French for 'handsome
wands'
Cho
[Cho Chang] - Japanese
name meaning "butterfly"
Crookshanks
- an old-fashioned
way of saying 'bent legs' (crookshanks has bandy legs)
Dementor
- a play on the word
"demented", or crazy. Thus a Dementor is one who
makes you demented.
diagonal
[Diagon Ally] - from
angle to angle (thus, Diagon Ally means Crooked Alley= Diagonally)
Dobby
- a "dobby"
is a very old English name for a benevolent elf who would anonymously
perform household tasks in the night, like the elves and the shoemaker.
Draco
[Draco Malfoy] - Latin
for "dragon"; also a constellation
Dudley
[Dudley Dursley] -
a play on 'dud', or boring person
Dumbledore
[Albus Dumbledore] - 'Dumbledore'
is an old English name for a bumblebee; the French word 'd'ore'
means 'of gold'.
Dursley
- a small town in
Britain
Expecto
Patronum
-
similar words in Latin
for "release protector"
Fawkes
- named after Guy
Fawkes, a Catholic terrorist who, about 400 years ago, attempted
to blow up the English Houses of Parliament with 36 barrels of
gunpowder. Although he did this in retaliation for the vicious
anti-Catholic policies of James I, his name has lived in infamy
ever since. Every year on the anniversary of the Gunpowder
Plot, children burn an effigy of him on a bonfire, chanting charming
ditties like, "Guy, Guy, Guy, Stick him in the eye, put him
in a bonfire, there let him die," and letting off fireworks.
Fawkes is a phoenix and therefore roses from flame.
Filch
[Argus Filch] - to
'filch' means to 'steal'
Firenze
- the Italian word
for the city of Florence. Florence is the final resting place
of Galileo Galilei, arguably the greatest astronomer who ever
lived (a link to the centaur's passion for the stars).
Fleur
Delacour - translates
to 'flower of the heart' from French
Flitwick
- a town in Britain
outside of London
Hermione
[Hermione Granger] -
means 'eloquence'. Hermione is the feminine form of Hermes,
the winged messenger of the Gods. Hermes was also an intermediary
between the Gods and Man, and was therefore the God of divine
inspiration: of inventiveness, cleverness and imagination; also
Hermione was the daughter of Helen of Troy.
kappa
- a Chinese water
demon
Ludo
[Ludo Bagman] - 'ludo'
is Latin for 'to play'
Lumos - similar to the Latin word
for "lamp" or "light" (as in luminate or illuminate)
Lupin
[Remus Lupin] - derived
from the latin word "lupus" which means wolf; a lupin
is also a type of flower, common in England, which is named after
the Latin word for 'wolfish'.
magus
[animagus] - Latin
for 'wizard'
Malfoy
- 'Mal foi' means
'bad faith' or 'bad trust' in French.
Maxime
[Olympe Maxime] -
a reference to her size; 'Maxime' is French for 'principle'
and she is the headmistress, or 'principal,' of Beauxbatons
Minerva
[Minerva McGonagall] -
the goddess of academics in Roman mythology
Muggle
-
According to JK Rowling,
she created the word muggle from the English word mug, or fool.
Narcissa
[Narcissa Malfoy] -
created from the Roman myth of Narcissus, who fell in love with
himself (very vain) Nox - Latin
for "night"
Patronus
- Latin for 'protector,'
or 'defender,' but it is ultimately derived from the Latin word
'pater,' which means 'father.'
Peeves
- 'peeved' is a slang
word for 'irritated'
Penseive
- a play on 'pensive'
meaning "deep in thought". Also, the Latin word
'penser,' means 'think'.
Poppy
[Poppy Pomfrey] -
one of the oldest medicinal plants. The opium it contains has
been used as a soporific and painkiller for thousands, perhaps
tens of thousands of years.
Remus
[Remus Lupin] - Remus
and Romulus were twins abandoned as babies and suckled by a she-wolf.
They would later become the two founders of Rome.
Rubeus
[Rubeus Hagrid] -
"red" in Latin
Salazar
[Salazar Slytherin] -
Antonio Salazar was the fascist dictator of Portugal for 36 years
until his death in 1968. Though never officially an ethnic cleanser,
he was a colonialist, who ruthlessly put down ethnic uprisings
his his country's colonies in Africa. His name is perhaps used
as a reference to the dictators past, such as Hitler, who believed
in ethnic purity, just as Slytherin did.
Scabbers
- a scab is a slang term for someone
who does no work and who scrounges off others.
Severus
[Severus Snape] - derived from "severe",
meaning strict or stern
Sinistra
[Prof. Sinistra]:
a play on the word "sinister", meaning 'suggestive of
evil or harm.' Also Latin for "left".
Sirius
[Sirius Black] - "dog"
in Latin, also a star of the constellation Canis Major that is
the brightest star in the sky (also called the "Dog Star")
Skeeter
[Rita Skeeter] - a
skeeter is American slang for a mosquito (apt for a female bloodsucker
like her). Also, 'little insects' (like mosquitos) in Italian
is 'paparazzi'.
Snape
- a small town in
Britain
Sybil
[Sybil Trelawney] -
sybils were ancient prophetesses who foretold the future at the
Oracle at Delphi.
Trelawney
[Sybil Trelawney] - Trelawney
is the hero of a Cornish poem called 'And Shall Trelawney Die?',
perhaps a reference to her custom of telling one student a year
he will die before its end.
Voldemort
- a combination of
French terms: vol meaning "flight", de meaning "of"
and mort meaning "death, killing" in French and Latin.
"Vol de mort" can also mean "Flight of death."