WW name trends (was No more alphabet, please)

[ssk7882]

No: HPFGUIDX 37744

Eileen asked:

> What has happened to the WW that they so quickly switched over 
> to a complete slate of almost ordinary names? 

Perhaps it happened because the WW had two wars, and in both
cases the anti-muggle faction lost?

Okay, so we don't actually know anything about Grindelwald
and the Wizarding World's WWII analogue.  Given that Dumbledore 
is known to have opposed Grindelwald, however, and given that 
he's also a notorious muggle-lover, it seems quite possible 
to me that Grindelwald's followers, like Voldemort's, associated 
themselves with a strongly anti-muggle platform.  If so, then 
it would not seem at all unlikely for the naming traditions 
of the Wizarding World to have undergone two sea changes, one 
in the post-war period of the 1950s, and another one during
the days of Voldemort's rise.

Amy wrote:

> Is there a sociopolitical reason behind the trend toward Harrys, 
> Ronalds and Seamuses? An unconscious desire to blend in, perhaps 
> even a pro-Muggle statement in protest against the pureblood 
> movement afoot in their birth year of 1980? 

I've always assumed that this does indeed reflect sociopolitical
changes within the wizarding world.

Wizards born before the 1940s tend to have classical names, either
Latinate or mythological.  We have Albus, Rubeus, Minerva, and
Sibyll.  Even "Poppy" Pomphrey might well be a Poppeia.

The post-war, pre-Voldemort generation seems to be divided along 
lines of heritage, or perhaps even lines of political affiliation.  
Proud Old Families seem to prefer to stick with their old-fashioned 
naming traditions.  So the Crouches are Bartemii, and Fudge is a 
Cornelius.  The Malfoys are Lucius and Narcissa.  Bagman, whose 
manner of speaking of good old *Augustus* Rookwood in his Penseive 
appearance would seem to indicate that his family was very much 
tied into the old boy network of the Wizarding World, is named 
Ludo.

The Weasleys, the Longbottoms and the Potters, on the other
hand, seem to have struck out into Muggle territory when it 
came time to name their children.  We have Molly and Arthur,
and good old Uncle Algie, and Frank and James.

Given that these families are all three strongly associated 
with either a firm pro-muggle stance or a strong emnity to 
Voldemort and his followers, I find myself wondering whether 
their political affiliations might not have been to some extent 
a matter of family tradition.  

I can also see this as a kind of analogue to the "popularization" 
of British muggle culture in the post-war period.  It is possible 
that the old-fashioned naming traditions began to fall out of vogue
in this era, as the WW became less traditional overall, a trend 
which might well have contributed to the class resentment which 
led so many members of the older families to join with voldemort.

I do know that Sirius, Severus, and Remus' first names have 
always strongly suggested to my mind that their families were 
probably both pure-blooded and rather socially conservative,
if not necessarily anti-muggle.  Peter, on the other hand,
interests me.  Possibly his family really were political 
liberals.  But I rather get the impression that they may
have been simply a trifle...common.

By the time of Voldemort's rise, however, classical or Latinate
names would seem to have become the province of only the very 
oldest and snootiest families.  My suspicion here is that this 
was a matter of prudence.  Voldemort and his Death Eaters were 
viewed as *criminals.*  They were more a terrorist organization 
than a political movement, and their members wished to keep their 
affiliation secret.  Only the haughtiest of aristocratic families, 
such as the Malfoys, could therefore get away with naming a 
child something like "Draco" without it raising instant suspicion.  
Most of Harry's contemporaries, even the DEs' children, have 
either muggle names or names of the straddling-the-political-fence, 
still-not-quite-muggle-but-nonetheless-socially-acceptable floral 
variety.

I find it interesting also to note that the classical names 
that we find in Harry's generation -- Terence, Marcus -- almost
always seem to belong to members of House Slytherin.


-- Elkins