Schoolboy names

[GulPlum]

Wanda Sherratt wrote:
> Perhaps someone who knows more about English public schools could 
> explain the different levels of "naming" in the movie.  It seems to 
> be that friends call each other by their first names (Harry, Ron 
> and Hermione) and they call their "enemies" or rivals by their last 
> name alone (Malfoy-Potter, Wood-Flint, etc.).  I thought it was a 
> bit of a jarring moment in the Great Hall when Ron's Howler 
> arrived, and Seamus said, "Look everyone!  Weasley's got a 
> Howler!"  Wouldn't it have sounded a bit mean to call Ron "Weasley" 
> at such a moment?  Was Seamus showing a bit of malice, or was it 
> just an American director not appreciating the nuances?  

<snip>

OK, I've not been to a British public school (although I know a 
couple of people who have), but I did attend a boarding school. The 
usual practice in our school was for all pupils to refer to each 
other by surname alone (the main reason was that *teachers* 
exclusively referred to pupils by surname alone). To the extent that 
a couple of years ago, I was involved in trying to arrange a school 
reunion, and found it very difficult to remember most people's first 
names, although their surnames came to me very easily.

It must be said that it was an all-boys school, so terminology was a 
bit rougher than it might have been otherwise. The fact that at 
Hogwarts, most teachers address most pupils as "Miss ..." or "Mr ..." 
(though occasionally *refer* to them by surname alone) is a nod in 
that direction; were the school single-sex, probably such a nicety 
would be dropped.

As for the nuance, strangely enough, I see it very much as the 
screenwriter and director *understanding* the nuance perfectly, 
rather than the opposite. Seamus might address Ron by first name, but 
it would be perfectly natural to refer to him by surname alone, 
especially in those circumstances ("malice" is perhaps too stong a 
word; "deliberately causing discomfort" would probably be better). 
Then again, perhaps it wasn't in the script, but the actor felt it 
more natural that way.

A case in point: three of my schoolmates remain among my closest 
friends over twenty years later and of those, two continue to address 
and refer to me by surname alone. One of them lived fairly close to 
me for some time later on, and I saw him very frequently. I also got 
to know his girlfriend (now wife of almost 8 years) very well, and 
even *she* has always referred to and addressed me by surname alone - 
he told her a fair bit about me during the few years they knew each 
other before she met me and she finds it difficult to think of me 
otherwise. There's no disrespect intended, nor is there any taken.