The Name Theory

By: Gwendy (Me!!!)

What's in a name? A lot, in most cases. Me? I'm named after my mother, Gwendolyn, which means white ring or bow. What in the world has that got to do with me?! Ehem. Sorry. We're not talking about me.

Okay, let's get serious. I'm here to talk about Harry and Hermione's names. Yes, their names are somewhat significant.

Let's start with Harry. Harry is a name derived from Henry, which means the head or chief of a house. His second name, James, is the Christian form of Jacob, which means a supplanter (supplant means to replace or to remove in order to replace with something else. I dunno what that's gotta do with supplanter). So maybe Harry James means replacement chief. ???

Now for Hermione. Hermione is a name derived from Hermes, the Greek messenger God. Her second name, which we had recently learned to be Jane, is derived from John, which means a gracious gift of God. Perhaps Hermione Jane means gifted messenger or gracious messenger. ???

What does replacement chief gotta do with gifted messenger? Well, I'm happy to announce that after a long and tiring research, I've finally found a connection (somewhat). I saw it in one of the many Greek mythologies (JK particularly uses these mythologies in her books).

Harry can be a representation for Zeus, hence the meaning of replacement chief. Why Zeus? Remember that Harry is the star of our show, just as Zeus is the big guy in Olympus. Harry has a lightning bolt scar. Zeus is famous for using lightning bolts to smite his enemies. Both Harry & Zeus are linked to several women (although Zeus is just too much of a lady's man if you know what I mean).

Hermes, from where Hermione's name is derived, is Zeus's very loyal messenger and he's also the person Zeus trusts the most. You might even say Hermes is his right hand man...even best friend. Hermione is one of Harry's best friends and is also very loyal to him (as said in OOTP). And of course, Harry trusts Hermione a great deal.

Another H/Hr thing we can associate to Zeus & Hermes can be found in the OOTP book. Remember that Hermione was the conceiver of the DA (Dumbledore's Army) thus, bringing significance to her name as the 'gifted messenger'. Harry was made leader of the DA, thus, also bringing significance to his name as the 'replacement chief'. Hermes is Zeus's (sorta) right hand man. In the DA, being the she's the conceiver & all, Hermione is clearly Harry's right hand ma---err...woman.

Interestingly, other than Hermes, there are two other persons associated with Zeus, whose first names start with HER: Hercules and Hera. The descriptions, qualities & such of these three characters can be found in Hermione.

Hercules is probably Zeus's most famous son. He is very strong & very brave, defeating many monsters with his god-like strength. He is the only Greek mythological character to ever make the transition from mortal (or half) to an immortal god, enabling him to live the rest of his life with his father in Olympus. From this, we see Hermione's bravery as well as her strength of character, which in turn, help Harry overcome the many obstacles that come in his way. Hercules's transition may represent Hermione's future transition from Harry's best friend to his *ahem* girlfriend and perhaps, his *ahem again* wife, making her live the rest of her life with Harry.

Strangely enough, in the PoA movie, we see Hermione having this sort of Herculian strength. Try looking at the video clips section. The clip entitled "Getting Inside the Whomping Willow" shows this. You'd think JK would object to this weird portrayal but she didn't. (this excerpt connected to JKR's Say on the Movies Essay).

Hera is Zeus's (official) wife. Hopefully, Hermione will become Harry's wife in the future as well.

Here's an e-mailed input by Serena and it's about another significance in Hermione's name: "Hermione was a mythological woman in ancient Greece. She was the daughter of Helen of Troy and Menelaus, King of Sparta. Menelaus promised her in marriage twice, first to Orestes, before the Trojan War, and then to Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, when they were in Troy. Menelaus did not wish to go back on his word, and took Hermione from Orestes and gave her to Neoptolemus. Hermione didn't like this very much and had to be dragged into the palace by force. Neoptolemus also took another wife the widow of Hector, Andromache. There was considerable jealously between the two women (Cho and Hermione??). Andromache used secret spells (!!!) on Hermione to make sure she remained childless. While Neoptolemus was away one day, Orestes came to the palace. Hermione asked him to rescue her and he took her away and made her his wife. Later, in a battle with Orestes, Neoptolemus was killed. J.K.Rowling might have chosen the name Hermione because of the mythological Hermione, who was loved and desired by 2 men. (Harry and Ron???) ." Thanks for the input, Serena!

Here's an additional input on the mythological Hermione, as sent in by Vitani : Serena sent in some information about the mythological Hermione, who married first Orestes and then Neoptolemus. She was correct in saying that Orestes killed Neoptolemus and Hermione was his again. However, I did think it interesting to add one small fact. Orestes himself was later killed, but by a snake. Snake = possibly Voldemort? Let's hope this doesn't portend something bad for Harry! Thanks for the snippet, Vitani!

And here's a plus. Rosemary sent in the name of Hermione's Granger (at least what she believed to be the name): Mrs. Helen Granger.

However, on the surface, their names do have another great significance. For one, both names start with an H. That's one thing they have in common. Also, haven't you noticed how there are so many H's in the Harry Potter Realm? (Harry, Hermione, Hagrid, Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, Hedwig, Honeydukes, Hippogriff, Hog's Head etc) The other thing is both their second names begin with a J. Another common thing. HJ. A lot of people have also been putting meanings to their initials. The most famous, are these: HP (Harry Potter) ==> Hermione's Prince. HG (Hermione Granger) ==> Harry's Girl. Just wonderful, isn't it? Heheh. Oh, a bit of plus: James and Jane sound a like.

This tidbit was sent in by Brandi Sharp. As stated by JK Rowling herself, Hermione's original last name was Puckle. As in Hermione Jane Puckle, as in H.J.P. Very interesting similarity to Harry's full initials.

As for Ronald Billius Weasley? The only thing I can think of are these: RB (Ronald Billius) ==> Rejected Boy or Rejected Boyfriend or Rejected Best Friend and RW (Ronald Weasley) ==> Rejected Weasley (can't seem to get rid of the word rejected). And also, There's another RW==>Really Wrong (sent in by Natasha B.).  Sorry if I offended any R/Hr fan. This is a H/Hr site after all. Offense should immediately be expected, as with what we expect every time we H/Hr fans visit R/Hr sites).

This additional snippet was added by GiantSquid. I know acronyms are big, and because JKR already used it once (Tom Marvolo Riddle = I Am Lord Voldemort) it means that it is something she thinks about. I've seen quite a few, but I haven't seen this one yet. Hermione = Mine Hero or Hero Mine. Whichever you like better. I thought it was quite interesting, and very suggestive to a Harry (the Hero) and Hermione (which will be hers) relationship. Squeal!

If you wish to send in more inputs, you can do so by e-mailing me at quillsnspills@yahoo.com and you'll be credited just like the people here!!!