JKR and reusing names (was: Augustus)

[psychic_serpent]

No: HPFGUIDX 75556

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "susannacedric" 
<susannacedric at p...> wrote:
Did anyone else notice there were two characters (albeit both minor 
characters) named Augustus in OOP-Augustus Rookwood-DE and Augustus 
Pye-Trainee Healer.  I didn't think JKR ever reused names.  I can't 
think of any other characters that have the same first names.  Am I 
forgetting some?  Is there any significance to this, or am I just 
being overly analytical.

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "arioth1" <arioth at p...> wrote:
There are two named Tom aswell. Tom Riddle and the barman in the 
Leaky Cauldron.

Me:

Actually, the usual way in which she reuses names is by going the 
father/son route.  We had two Tom Riddles, one a Muggle father and 
one an evil spawn of a son; we had two Barty Crouches, each one more 
vile than the last, and Harry himself bears his father's first name 
as his middle name, as we finally have confirmed when he has his 
trial in OotP.  Frankly, I'm surprised that we don't see more names 
reused in this manner in the HP books, but authors have a certain 
amount of control over their worlds to avoid this when it would be 
undesirable (although I've seen authors of books that aren't fantasy 
use this for good comic effect when walking into a pre-school 
classroom and discovering that all of the children are named either 
Brandon or Brittany <g>).

JKR also stated that she didn't want to give her son, who was named 
David Gordon Rowling Murray, a name she'd used in any of the books 
(or intended to use) but she did anyway, and not great names, from 
the perspective of how they appear in the HP series.  Gordon, for a 
start, is the name of one of Dudley's thug friends.  We don't see 
anyone named "David" exactly, but a nickname, Davey, does appear.  
We're told that Davey Gudgeon was hit rather violently by the 
Whomping Willow (I'm trying to remember properly, but I think 
something awful happened, like one of his eyes being put out).  And 
as for reusing names, Davey happens to have the same last name as 
Gladys Gudgeon, Gilderoy Lockhart's biggest fan (even after he's 
been in hospital for several years, as we learn in OotP).  If Davey 
is related to Gladys (and I think it's a pretty good bet he is), the 
Gudgeon family aren't exactly shaping up to look like geniuses, are 
they?  Evidently JKR forgot about poor Davey when naming her son.

--Barb

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