Ethnicity

[arcum42]

No: HPFGUIDX 40418

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "A. Vulgarweed" <fluxed at e...> wrote:
> Nik wrote:
> 
<snip>
> Dean Thomas and Angelina Johnson, though, I *would* need to be told
> they were black if that was important to the story, because their 
> names don't convey that information (Johnson is a very common name 
> among both whites and blacks here). I mean, Hannah Abbot or Susan 
> Bones or Morag McDougal or Malcolm Baddock or whoever could be
> black also for all I know--I don't think it says anywhere that
> they're _not_. So in a way the reader is free to imagine Hogwarts 
> as pasty-white or as diverse as they wish: we're not given much 
> information on _everybody's_ ethnicity, and plenty of minor
> characters get no physical description at all.

I'd agree for the most part, bust as far as Morag McDougal goes, with
a name like that, I'd assume they'd be Scottish unless told
otherwise...

>From <http://www.rampantscotland.com/forenames/blnames_lm.htm>:

'Morag - This is said to be the Gaelic equivalent to Sarah (from a
Hebrew word "Sarai" meaning "Queen" or "Princess"), though some books
suggest that it is from the Gaelic "mor" meaning "great" and "ag" or
"og" meaning small. So the combination is "great young one". It was
largely unknown outside of Scotland until the 20th century but has
become increasingly popular. When it was dangerous to use Bonnie
Prince Charlie's real name after Culloden in 1746, his followers
sometimes used the name Morag to refer to him.'

And he's clearly from Clan McDougall: (From the Gaelic "dubh gall"
means "dark stranger")

http://www.rampantscotland.com/clans/blclanmacdougall.htm

He could be black and Scottish, but I tend to think that would be
unusual enough to have been mentioned, especially with both a Gaelic
first and last name...

--Arcum