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Albus is simply Latin for white. It might refer to his white hair, his pure intentions, or simply be suitably erudite-sounding (good for a Headmaster).
Percival = pierces the valley.
Wulfric has an Anglo-Saxon ring to it – which pegs him as a good guy in Rowling’s “Norman Bad, Saxon Good” cosmogony. The Anglo Saxon name Wulfric = wolf power or wolf ruler.
Brian = noble.
Dumbledore was explained by Rowling herself:
The long, elaborate name as a whole suggests that he comes from an old and traditional, if not very wealthy, family.
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Rufus is Latin for “red,” “ruddy” (cf. William Rufus) and presumably refers to his mane of reddish hair.
Scrimgeour is an old Scottish name, belonging to a valiant family whose head is now Earl of Dundee and hereditary Bearer of the Royal Banner of Scotland. So it suggests not just an aristocratic lineage, but a wild (Highland Scots) and militant one; the latter traits are certainly perceptible in this Minister for Magic.
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This name is built along the same pattern as that of at least one of her co-founders.
Rowena is an Old English name, appropriate to the time (c. 990) Hogwarts was founded. It’s probably best-known as the name of the Saxon heroine in Ivanhoe.
Ravenclaw refers to the bird, which though very real has age-old magical or supernatural associations; Odin himself (a Saxon god!), for example, had pet ravens named Huginn and Muninn (“Thought” and “Memory” in Old Norse).
The fact that she was a non-Scot who founded a school in Scotland is, again, worth noting.
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Godric is a distinctly Anglo-Saxon/Old English name, popular BEFORE the Norman Conquest of England (1066). As Hogwarts was founded supposedly around 990 A.D., this corresponds with time period.
Gryffindor is probably a simple reference to the awesome mythical beast.
It’s interesting that he doesn’t appear to have been Scottish, given Hogwarts' location.
D'or is a French word meaning golden. The golden gryffin?
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We all know the name sounds evil; but why, exactly?
To start with, Draco is the Latin word for “dragon” – traditionally not a congenial beast, and sometimes even a representation of the Devil.
Malfoy appears to be derived from the French Mal Foi, or “bad faith.” The final “Y” would be an Old French spelling, which invokes a possible Norman origin for this aristocratic-seeming family; this, combined with the Anglo-Saxon names of Dumbledore and the Hogwarts founders, suggests that Rowling bought into Sir Walter Scott’s Victorian “evil Normans oppressing good Saxons” version of history.
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Remus was the name of one of the legendary founders of Rome, who was reputedly suckled by a she-wolf after being abandoned in the forest.
Lupin seems related to the Romance language words for wolf, e.g. French loup, Spanish/Portuguese lobo.
Both not-so-subtly indicate to those in the know that Professor Lupin is a werewolf.
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What is this?
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What is this?
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Luna, being Latin for “moon,” was bestowed on the character in reference to the idea that insanity (and animal/human behaviour in general) can be caused somehow by the moon. In other words, she’s crazy (“loony”).
Lovegood indicates that she’s nonetheless completely well-meaning and altruistic. Sometimes crazy people are the nicest!
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The name of a medieval German-Polish noblewoman and saint who, hilariously, is the patron of bald people (no, I’m not making this up!)
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