Harry Potter Names Significance

Millicent Bulstrode was a brutish Slytherin girl. When Lockhart attempted to conduct a Dueling Club class, she headlocked Hermione in spite of the “no contact” rule. She was also able to hold down Hermione when she became a member of Umbridge’s Inquisitorial Squad. Hermione once intended to take her form with the Polyjuice Potion as part of a plan, but she mistakenly used a hair from her cat instead.

Millicent is a name meaning “work-strenght”.

Bulstrode sounds similar to “bull stride”, which likely suggests various things about her: “she’s bull-headed, she’s as strong as a bull, she can straddle a bull, she strides away...” (quote)

Romilda is a name meaning “famous battle”.

Voldemort’s father Tom Riddle Senior (left) was a handsome, aristocratic Muggle, whom he looked like very much when he was young. Voldemort believed that he had abandoned his mother because he hated magic, and that’s why Voldemort hated Muggles. Before he was 16, Voldemort took his revenge by killing his father, as well as his grandparents, Thomas and Mary Riddle. He framed Morfin Gaunt for it and used their murders to make his second Horcrux: Marvolo Gaunt’s ring.

Tom has this name because Voldemort was to be named after him. Also, there is a Thomas Riddell tombstone in Edinburgh, which people believe have inspired Voldemort’s name. (It’s in the same cemetery where William McGonagall is burried.)

Thomas is the unshortened form of “Tom”.

Mary is a common name, fitting with the Muggle family.

Neville Longbottom had a pet toad, Trevor, which was a gift from his Uncle Algie from when he first showed magical ability. Although toads are on Hogwarts’ list of allowed pets, Hagrid says “they're out of fashion”, for years now. Neville often lost sight of Trevor and, at some point in his 6th or 7th year, Trevor escaped to “join his brethren” in the Black Lake. “Both owner and pet felt a sense of relief.” (quote)

Trevor was originally a surname, from a Welsh place name meaning “big village”. Perhaps one thing that it shares with Trevor the Toad (other than a bit of alliteration) is that it sounds slightly dated for his generation. (info)

Griselda is a figure in European folklore noted for her patience and obedience. The name can be interpreted as meaning “grey warrior”, which I can only assume relates to her (probably) grey hair.

Auror John Dawlish (possibly one of the knocked-out men pictured) was faithful to the Ministry (even when Voldemort had secretly taken control). Throughout the story, he gets thwarted by his targets several times: he is knocked out by Dumbledore, by Hagrid, jinxed by Dumbledore again, confounded by someone in the Order, stunned by Dirk Cresswell, and eventually sent to St Mungo’s by Neville’s gran.

Rowling named John after John Noe, creative director of the fansite The Leaky Cauldron, because he was obsessed with the character. (source)

A tall, intimidating employee of the Ministry, Albert Runcorn gave information about Muggleborns to the “Muggle-Born Registration Commission”, including Mary Cattermole and Dirk Cresswell. Harry took his identity to infiltrate the Ministry.

Albert is a Germanic name meaning “noble and bright”.

Runcorn is the name of a town in England, in the Cheshire county, meaning “a wide cove or bay”.

Hogwarts’ librarian Madam Irma Pince is an irritable woman who looks like an “underfed vulture”. She can easily overreact if she finds students eating in the library or mistreating books. Some students (like Harry and Hermione) speculate she’d make a nice couple with Argus Filch. She’s also a big fan of the Frog Choir (but the library has to remain silent).

Pince might have been taken from “pince-nez” style glasses.

Bonus: Rowling said Madam Pince “sprang directly from [her] childhood fear of scary librarians. The kind who hate kids.” (quote) Also, “if they'd had a pleasant, helpful librarian, half [her] plots would be gone. 'Cause the answer invariably is in a book but Hermione has to go and find it.” (quote)

When Tom Riddle poisoned Hepzibah Smith, he framed her House-Elf Hokey. She was elderly, and had had her memory altered by Riddle, so the Ministry was convinced that she was responsible for the “accident”. She was also the one who provided the memory of Riddle’s visit to Dumbledore.

Pius was the name of various popes, meaning “pious”. “Piety” means “religious devotion”, but it’s algo cognate with “pity”.

Katie Bell’s friend Leanne witnessed her touch the Opal Necklace, but she didn’t know who gave the package to her.

Mr Roberts is a Muggle who manages a campsite in Dartmoor (pictured), near where the 1994 Quidditch World Cup was held. He went through several Memory Charms a day by employees of the Ministry, due to the event. After the final, a group of masked Death Eaters levitated him around, as well as his wife and two children, and went around burning tents (“their idea of fun”, according to Mr Weasley). This occurrence was alarming for the Ministry, especially due to the reappearance of the Dark Mark.

Armando is a name meaning “army man”. Rowling might have taken the name from one of her students from when she taught English in Portugal, (info) but this is only a suspicion of mine.

As a surname, Cole originated from “coal”, but it’s also sometimes a short form of “Nicholas”. St Nicholas was the patron saint of children (and the origin of the story of Santa Claus), which would be appropriate for a children caretaker.

Bonus: When Dumbledore informs Mrs Cole that Riddle will have to return to the orphanage every Summer, she replies: “Oh, well, that's better than a whack on the nose with a rusty poker.” In Patrick Süskind's “Das Parfüm” (Perfume: The Story of a Murderer) (1985) a very similar character, Madame Gaillard, cares for that story's main character (and villain) Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, when he spends his youth in an orphanage. Madame Gaillard had been hit by her father with a poker just over the nose, thereby losing her sense of smell.

Cassius might have been named after the Roman senator known as the leader of the plot to assassinate Julius Caesar.

Warrington is the name of a town in England. I suspect it was picked for him due to containing the word “war” (even “warring”) in it, due to the Slytherins’ usual belligerent personalities.

When Hagrid took Harry to the Forbidden Forest for the first time, they ran into Ronan, the Centaur. Hagrid asked him if he knew anything about the murdered unicorns, and although he’d shaken Hagrid’s hand and greeted the students politely, he wouldn’t give Hagrid a straight answer, instead giving mysterious replies like “Mars is bright tonight. Unusually bright.” and “Always the innocent are the first victims. So it has been for ages past, so it is now.” Although he is not as trustful of humans as Firenze, he appears to be at least more peaceful than others, pointing out that Harry and Hermione were still “foals” when the herd wanted to punish them. And yet, he was the one to lead the charge of the Centaurs when they decided to join the Battle of Hogwarts against Death Eaters.