[HPforGrownups] Spinner's End

[Kathryn Jones]

No: HPFGUIDX 156718

justcarol67 wrote:

> Carol, who thinks that we can't necessarily deduce a working class
> background or much of anything else about Snape's childhood from the
> house he lives in as of HBP

   KJ writes:

    One of the things that picks away at my mind is the name "Severus". 
This would be considered a wizardy sort of name I think and is much like 
Albus, Filius, Argus, Sirius, Remus, etc.  These names are quite 
distinct from Harry, Ron, Arthur, Charlie, etc.  There seems to be some 
distinction there although it is muddied as to pure-blood, half-blood 
status. The names seem about equally divided. One might think that 
Dumbledore is a pure-blood from his name, also Filch as a squib. Sirius 
was a pure-blood, and Remus is only considered a half-blood because he 
is a werewolf. We know that Arthur Weasley is a pure-blood, but he has a 
muggle fetish. Did he give his children muggle names for this reason? 
Does this indicate that Severus was named by his mother, or his mother's 
family, and if so, what happened to his father. Perhaps it was the 
murder of his father, not his mother which has caused Snape to re-think 
his position with the DE.

KJ