mollymoon's list "Names from the Wizarding World" of 20 great name ideas: Neville - Aquila!

Names from the Wizarding World

This is a list of names that were inspired by the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, as well as names I like for characters that I think could fit within that universe.

More often used in Britain than here, where most names ending in ville fall into the unthinkable class, this might make an exception via fans of the musical Neville Brothers.

 Charles Dickens used the name for a character in his unfinished novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

Neville

Musical association with Igor Stravinsky, but also Dr. Frankenstein's right-hand man. 

Igor

Marcia is the most common version of this group of names in the U. S., now found more often among moms and grandmas than babies. Marsha was a Top 100 name in the 1950s, when Marcy was its common go-by name. A notable bearer is LGBTQ activist Marsha P. Johnson.

Marsha

A somewhat solemn appellation, Anselm is a saint's name, connected to the twelfth century archbishop of Canterbury, and in modern times tied to the German neo-expressionist painter Anselm Kiefer.


Anselm

Last in fashion in the 1930s, Bertram might once have been firmly in the best left in the past category, but with sweet nickname Bertie and the cool option of Bram, Bertram might just be one to reconsider. Fitting in with other clunky vintage options like Chester, Sidney, Abram, Ebenenzer, and Wilfred, Bertram is a literary option, appearing as the full first name of P.G. Wodehouse's inimitable Bertie Wooster and on a character in Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well.
 
Not to be confused with Bertrand (though the two often do get conflated), Bertram is derived from Old German and has the stylish and mystical meaning of "bright raven". A nature and bird inspired choice, it has a hint of Halloween about it too, thanks to the raven link.
 
Bertram briefly entered the UK charts in the 1990s, and ranked in Denmark up until 2016, which in the US, a recent year saw it given to just 10 boys. In England and Wales, it was chosen for 9 boys, placing it alongside Blaise, Boston, Gordon, Gunnar, and Oakes.

Bertram

A name borne by nine popes and several saints, which carries strong Catholic connotations. British politician Jacob Rees-Mogg named his sixth child Sixtus Dominic Boniface Christopher in 2017.

Boniface

Rarely used surname, associated with humorous poet Ogden Nash. 

Ogden

Stanislaw

The ancient name Albus has modern currency as the first name of the headmaster of Harry Potter's Hogwarts, more formally known as Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. Can Albus work if you're missing the long white beard and the magic wand? Maybe, though it might be a heavy mantle for a Muggle child to wear.

Albus

Jasper is an internationally-popular name that takes many forms, among them Casper, Gaspar, and the French version Gaspard. Virtually unknown in the US, Gaspard is one of the <a href="https://nameberry.com/popular-names/france">Top 100 Boy Names in France</a>.

Gaspard

Bronwen is widespread in Wales, but still rare enough here to sound somewhat international — we think Bronwen is a real winner. (Note: the Bronwyn spelling is an Anglicization, since the -wyn ending is masculine in Welsh).

 Bronwen Morgan is the lovely heroine of the classic novel and movie How Green Was My Valley. In Welsh mythology, Bronwen was the daughter of Llyr, the god of the sea.

 Close cousin Branwen appears in Welsh medieval literature as a tragic figure who was turned into a bird. The ancient Welsh worshipped her as the goddess of the moon and love.

Bronwen

Apolline is a luscious French name chic in Paris -- it's a Top 100 name for baby girls in France -- and ripe for the plucking in the English-speaking world.  Derived from the mythological name Apollo, the name may mean strength; Apollo was the god of sun and light.  Apolline is a perfect choice for those attracted to the name Apple who don't want to go quite that far.

Apolline

The traditional name of the brightest star in the constellation Leo and a minor character in the "Harry Potter" series might be a good pick for parents interested in a regal name but turned off by the blatancy of Royalty and King. The nickname Reggie is all but inevitable, for better or worse.

Regulus

The connection to Freud is a strong one, but this German name has a strong and interesting sound and great nickname potential: Ziggy, Iggy, Sim, Sid...

Sigmund

Also related to the word for wolf, this name has a first syllable that's not appealing to the American ear. Better ic-ending choices: Dominic, Frederic, Eric. 

Ulric

An ancient and highly unusual name; St. Alban -- sometimes also called Albinus or Aubin -- was an early martyr in Roman Britain.  Using an alternate spelling, Alben Barkley was the 35th U.S. Vice-President, serving under Harry Truman.  And Albin is popular in modern Sweden. But only the form Alban has the alternate meaning "from Alba".

Alban

Claudius is one of the most user-friendly of the ancient Roman names – even though it's associated with the villainous character in Shakespeare's Hamlet. But as with feminine form Claudia, the "lame" meaning may stymie the rise of Claudius. Some etymologists theorize that the name may relate to the word for enclosure or clause, an alternate meaning that may appeal to a child with a form of this otherwise-appealing name.

Claudius

Edwina may still be taking tea in the parlor, but we can see her joining friends like Matilda and Josephine for a comeback, especially if pronounced like Edwin rather than Edween. 
 She had a very non-vintage-mauve image in the Coen brothers' cult favorite, Raising Arizona, in which Holly Hunter played a police officer named Edwina who was usually called Ed.
 Edwina was on the Social Security list every year through 1969, reaching a high of 378 in 1943.

Edwina

The Gwendoline form may introduce pronunciation confusion -- does that last syllable rhyme with wine or win or when?  We vote Gwendolen as not only the most proper but the clearest spelling, followed by Gwendolyn, with Gwendoline a distant third.

Gwendoline

An evocative ancient word that's used as a first name in the New Testament, among other places. It's also the name of an eagle-shaped constellation. 
That said, contemporary interest in the name Aquila probably stems from its use as the name of Facebook's secretive drone project. If that takes off, and its name doesn't change, Aquila could take a hit, like Siri and Alexa before it.