Religious And Mythological Theme Naming / Harry Potter

Religious and Mythological Theme Naming in the wider Harry Potter franchise:

• Remus Lupin is named after one of the famous twins Raised by Wolves who founded Rome
• Minerva McGonagall gets her first name from the Roman goddess of wisdom and warfare.
• Olympe Maxime's first name is the French translation of "Olympus"
• Hermione Granger's name comes from Greek myth: Hermione was the daughter of Helen of Troy and means "Dedicated to Hermes" (coincidentally, "Hermes" is the name of Percy's pet owl).
• Professor Pomona Sprout, of the Herbology department, gets her name from the Roman goddess of apples
• Professor Sybil Trelawney is the professor of Divination and gets her name from the Greek and Roman prophets.
  • She had a grandmother named Cassandra, who was also a Seer. Cassandra was a Trojan princess who was also a prophet.
• The Weasleys are a mix of classical and modern British royalty, with Ronald being the odd one out (although "Ron" is the name of King Arthur's spear in some versions):
  • Classical
    • Arthur, the mythical King Arthur himself.
    • Percy (like Percival). A Knight of the Round Table. This name pops up a couple of times throughout the franchise as it was also Dumbledore's father's name (and one of his middle names) and as well as Percival Graves from the first Fantastic Beasts movie.
    • Ginevra is the Italian form of "Guinevere", King Arthur's wife.
  • Modern
    • Molly is a variant of "Mary" which is a name that's been used throughout the centuries, with the most recent being the Queen Consort in the early 20th century and Queen Elizabeth II's grandmother.
    • William, Charles, and George are also ubiquitous names throughout history but all have current Royal bearers. (Although Prince George was born after the original series ended).
    • Frederick was an 18th century British King.
• Merope (Gaunt) was known as the lost Pleiade (minor deities), as unlike her sisters - who all paired up with gods - she fell in love with a mortal and so died a mortal death.
• Sirius and Regulus Black are both named after stars; their relative Andromeda is named after a galaxy, although almost the entire Black family (including off-shoots like the Malfoys) follow Stellar Theme Naming.
• Fenrir is a Norse mythological wolf and Fenrir Grayback is a werewolf.
• There are twins of Indian descent named Parvati (Hindu goddess of fertility, love, beauty, harmony, marriage, children, and devotion) and Padma ( Hindu goddess of prosperity, good luck, and beauty) Patil.
• Draco Malfoy's grandfather was named Abraxas which is a Greek mythological world, connected with the number 365 and part of the solar cycle.
• Madame Rosmerta's name was inspired by Greco-Roman mythology.
• Gellert (anglicized as Gerard of Csanád) is the name of a patron of Hungary. He lived in the 11th century and was martyred during a pagan uprising, being rolled down a hill that is now named after him and then thrown into the Danube.
• There's a Zacharias Smith and a Hepzibah Smith who may be related; both of them have obscure Biblical first names.
• Ariana is the Portuguese translation of the Greek "Ariadne", a Cretan princess in Greek mythology. Ariadne helped Theseus slay the minotaur.
• Theseus is a Mythical King who founded Athens and slayed the minotaur. Theseus Scamander is a brave Auror who was a World War I hero and fights Grindelwald in the present.
• One of Newt Scamanander's middle names is Artemis which is from the Greek goddess of the moon and hunting (it's a unisex name).
• President of MACUSA Seraphina Picquery's first name comes from an order of angels from the Bible.
• Credence Barebone’s birth name, Aurelius, comes from a second century Roman emperor.

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