[HPforGrownups] Class issues in names was Re: Not All Weasley's are Weasley's

[Kathryn Cawte]

No: HPFGUIDX 102011




>
> > Mandy, who's British and was just wondering if any American readers
> > would recognize the subtle class issues involved in the names
> people
> > have in the UK?
>
MaggieB

> An American here.  I realize that there are class differences in
> names across the pond.  I remember reading SS the first time and
> thinking that surly Aunt Petunia was mad when she called "Harry" a
> low class common name.  My own gut feeling is that Harry is in
> general a higher class name than Dudley, is my gut wrong?
>
> Perhaps some of our British members would care to start a discussion
> along these lines to enlighten the rest of us?
>
>

K

No it isn't (and yes it is). Glad I could clear that up :)

Harry (usually a nickname for Henry btw) isn't uncommon in the upper
classes, and has been favoured throughout history (two examples that come to
mind are Henry IV (Agincourt) was referred to as Harry and so is Prince
Charles' second son - actually the pub almost next door to me is the King
Harry which is why the first example springs so readily to mind). However
it's also quite a common name throughout society and very common amongst the
'working classes'.

Dudley however is pretty much a middle-class-with-aspirations kind of name.
*Very* nouveau-riche/pretentious.

For Petunia who aspires to the very uppermost ranks of the middle class (she
can't really become upper class as you're either born into it or marry into
it - at least in the minds of most of the upper classes and most of the
people she associates with) 'Dudley' has just the right ring to it whereas
Harry doesn't - so she dismisses it by sneering at it (fairly inaccurately
probably since it was before the birth of Prince Harry and she has no real
contact with actual upper class people and is probably fairly ignorant about
history)

K