In this article, we look at the original names that J.K. Rowling considered before publishing the books. From characters like Hermione Granger to Draco Malfoy, several iconic Harry Potter names were almost completely different.
Harry Potter Names That Were Almost Completely Different
1) Hermione Granger
J.K. Rowling has revealed that Hermione’s original last was going to be ‘’Puckle’ when she started creating the Harry Potter universe. She crossed out ‘Puckle’ and changed it to ‘Granger’.
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2) Draco Malfoy
Rowling first considered the last names ‘Spinks’, ‘Smart’ and ‘Spungen’ for Draco Malfoy. She scrapped those names and eventually decided on Draco Malfoy instead.
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On a related note, see our Harry Potter birthday list, to see if you share a birthday with a character.
3) Neville Longbottom
Rowling says that both ‘Puff’ and ‘Sidebottom’ were last names that she strongly considered for Neville Longbottom. Rowling eventually decided against it and picked Longbottom instead.
SOURCE:
- https://www.harrypotter.com/writing-by-jk-rowling/the-original-forty
4) Luna Lovegood
There was a character named ‘Lily Moon’ that was mentioned during the sorting ceremony at Hogwarts. J.K. Rowling has revealed that this character was the original iteration for Luna Lovegood. Rowling decided to change the name and put her a year younger than Harry Potter instead.
SOURCE:
- https://www.harrypotter.com/features/the-hidden-names-of-harry-potter-characters
5) The Patil Twins
The original name for the Patil twins was going to be Madhari and Mati Patel. This was later changed to Padma and Parvati Patil.
SOURCE:
- https://www.harrypotter.com/writing-by-jk-rowling/the-original-forty
6) The Death Eaters
The original name for the Death Eaters was the “Knights of Walpurgis”. During an 2003 interview, Rowling said:
“in here is the history of the Death Eaters and I don’t know that I’ll ever actually need it – but at some point – which were once called something different – they were called the Knights of Walpurgis.”
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7) The Goblet Of Fire
Before landing on Goblet Of Fire, Rowling says that her original name for the 4th book was Harry Potter and the Doomspell Tournament.
‘I’ve changed my mind a few times. That was a problem with Goblet of Fire which was originally called ‘The Doomspell Tournament’’
Source
- https://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2001/0301-comicrelief-staff.htm
8) The Deathly Hallows
Rowling considered two other names for the final Harry Potter book: the Elder Wand and the Peverell Quest. She ended up going with Deathly Hallows instead.
‘The two other possibilities were ‘the Elder Wand’ and ‘the Peverell Quest’, which I decided against quite quickly. I think the word ‘Quest’ is a bit corny!”
Source:
- https://www.hp-lexicon.org/source/interviews/blc/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
9) The Sorcerer’s Stone
Harry Potter and the School of Magic was pitched by J.K Rowling’s publisher, Arthur Levine,as the name for the American version of the first book. This was only a pitch from the Publisher though and not something Rowling seriously considered.
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10) Quirrell
Rowling considered using the name ‘Quirrel’ for either the first or last name of a student in Harry’s year. She ended up scrapping that and turning that into Professor Quirrell instead.
SOURCE:
- https://www.harrypotter.com/writing-by-jk-rowling/the-original-forty
11) Dean Thomas
Dean Thomas is a member of Gryffindor in the same year as Harry. In Rowling’s original notes, the character was named Gary.
SOURCE:
- https://www.harrypotter.com/writing-by-jk-rowling/the-original-forty
12) Terry Boot
Terry Boot is a minor character from Ravenclaw house, who was in the same year as Harry Potter. In Rowling’s original notes, the character was named Trevor.
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13) Daphne Greengrass
Daphne Greengrass is a minor character from Slytherin, who was in the same year as Harry. In Rowling’s original notes, the character was named Queenie. The name Queenie was later used as a main character in the Fantastic Beasts series.
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14) Morag Macdougal
There is a minor character named Morag Macdougal that gets sorted into Ravenclaw in the first book. In J.K Rowling’s notes, this character’s name was going to be either Katrina or Isobel before landing on Morag.
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Did any of these original Harry Potter names surprise you? Let me know in the comment section.