The wizarding world of Harry Potter is an etymologist’s playground. Very few characters have meaningless names, even the bland-sounding Harry Potter, whose name implies great leadership skills and the overthrowing of an old regime.
I mean, wow, spoiler alert.
By dissecting the names of certain characters in the Harry Potter series, some major plot points become blindingly obvious.
Remus Lupin
Newsflash: Remus Lupin is a werewolf. No need to read the books or watch the movies to know this to be true — just take a look at his name! Lupin comes from the Latin word lupinus and gives wolves their scientific name: Canis lupus. In English, we use the word “lupine” to describe something that is wolf-like.
A werewolf, for example.
And Remus Lupin’s first name is interesting, too. Remus is one half of the legendary Greek twins, Remus and Romulus, who were raised by a she-wolf. The twins, who fought to the death, remind Harry Potter readers of Remus Lupin’s internal struggle with his dual identity as a werewolf.
It’s a sad story, but one which many readers will find relatable.
Did I just imply that some people are werewolves, or am I referring to the internal struggle…