[HPforGrownups] Nicknames for Given Names (was: sharing an unimportant discovery ...)

[Alina]

No: HPFGUIDX 102060

From: "karenoc1"


> I haven't been able to tune in lately, so I apologize in advance for
> the belated response to this!  And please forgive a post about a nit-
> picky topic!  But I've always wondered why JKR, who clearly spends
> quite a bit of time considering details, chose to give characters
> nicknames for given names.  I'm thinking of Harry, but primarily of
> Percy Weasley.  We know that Harry's complete name is Harry James
> Potter, and I can't remember Percy's middle name, but I believe he
> provides his complete name in OotP (alas, I'm bookless).  I remember
> thinking it odd that the Weasley's did not name Percy "Percival."
<snip>

If I remember correctly, Percy is the version of Percival that commoners
named their children because they could not give them actual noble names,
but wanted something close to them. I'm sure there were messages about this
years ago, but I couldn't find one through search, sorry. Basically, I think
it's Rowlings' way of pointing out the difference between rich and pureblood
families like the Blacks and Malfoys and the poorer families like the
Weasleys.

Alina.