The final book of the Harry Potter saga was released in 2007 and the final film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, came out four years later. Sure, the Wizarding World media franchise continues through the Fantastic Beasts film series. And, well, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child exists. However, the original seven books are what millions of us loved to read and re-read growing up.
Potterheads can still remember how the last book ends. In 2017, nineteen years after the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry, his girlfriend-turned-wife Ginny, and their kids head to Platform 9 ¾ to drop their sons off at the Hogwarts Express. Harry’s younger son expresses fear about being sorted into House Slytherin, the Hogwarts House with the worst reputation, but Harry assures him it won’t matter. And best of all, Harry’s scar had never pained him after all these years.
The story continues on in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (which, if you’re like me, consider it non-canon despite what author J.K. Rowling says). But aside from the fact that Harry’s second son and middle child Albus Severus has become the most popular of the three, people are confused about Harry and Ginny’s naming choices. Some would compare it to hardcore Potter fans who name all their children after Harry Potter characters.
But, if you look into the stories (yes, even The Cursed Child), you might understand why Harry and Ginny decided to name their children after the people they know.
What Are the Names of Harry Potter’s Kids?
After the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998, Harry and Ginny rekindled their relationship, got married, and had three children: James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna. They are all named after people whom Harry and Ginny have a close relationship with and go on to influence their lives. They most likely chose these names to honor those people.
James Sirius Potter (A.K.A. James Potter II)
The eldest, James, was born in 2004 since he was in his third year of Hogwarts by 2017. His godparents are his uncle and aunt Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger-Weasley. He was sorted into House Gryffindor in 2015. No one was surprised by this, though, since everyone in the last two generations of his family (his father, mother, maternal uncles, and both sets of grandparents) were sorted into Gryffindor. Not much is known about him, except he seems to have the mischievous spirit of his two uncles, Fred and George Weasley since he stole the Marauder’s Map from his father the same way the twins had once stolen it from Argus Filch’s office.
James gets his namesake from two people in Harry’s life: his father, James Potter, and his godfather, Sirius Black. James and Sirius were the closest of friends growing up. Both James and Sirius played father-figure roles in Harry’s life, so it’s no surprise that he honored their memory by naming his first child and first son after them.
Sirius left his family home at the age of 16 when he refused to believe in his family’s pureblood-centric values. James’ parents, Fleamont and Euphemia Potter took him in and treated him like their own son. During the First Wizarding War, James, his wife Lily, and their baby son Harry went into hiding and insisted that Sirius be the Secret-Keeper (someone who, under the Fidelius Charm, can keep a person or place hidden for as long as they don’t tell another person about that secret) since Sirius had such devotion that it was clear he would rather die than reveal their location in Godric’s Hollow. However, Sirius thought it would be too obvious to pick him as the Secret-Keeper, so he volunteered their other mutual friend, Peter Pettigrew, to be the real Secret-Keeper. Pettigrew, however, betrayed them and revealed the Potters’ location to Lord Voldemort, leading to James and Lily’s deaths. Sirius eventually found out and confronted him, but Pettigrew faked his death, went into hiding in his animagus rat form, and killed 12 Muggles in an attempt to make Sirius look like the one who betrayed the Potters.
Sirius was sentenced to Azkaban, where he would stay for 12 years. He later escaped when he realized Pettigrew was still alive. He was eventually able to clear his name with Harry and Remus Lupin, but because Pettigrew managed to escape, there was no evidence to support his claims. So, despite offering Harry the chance to live with him (it was the Potters’ wish Harry lived with him in case of their deaths), he was forced to go on the run, sending Harry letters of advice and encouragement and became the closest thing to a parent for Harry. In 1995, however, he was killed during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. This affected Harry deeply since his anger drove him to use an Unforgivable Curse on the witch who caused Sirius’ death, Sirius’ cousin Bellatrix Lestrange.
Albus Severus Potter
The second child, Albus Severus Potter, was born sometime in 2006. His godfather is his parents’ friend and the Hogwarts Herbology Professor, Neville Longbottom. In the original books, Albus is nervous about getting sorted into Slytherin, but Harry assures him that he won’t “go bad” because he was named after a Slytherin alumnus who turned out to be, in Harry’s opinion, one of the greatest men he’s ever met.
However, The Cursed Child continues immediately after this final scene, showing what happened after. Albus shocked Hogwarts students by becoming the first known person in the Potter and Weasley family tree to be sorted into House Slytherin. He, later on, became best friends with Scorpius Malfoy, the son of Harry’s former enemy, Draco Malfoy. Between him and his siblings, Albus gets most of the spotlight on him due to the events of The Cursed Child.
Albus gets his name from the two Hogwarts Headmasters, Albus Dumbledore, and Severus Snape. Albus Dumbledore was arguably the most powerful wizard of his time, having experienced owning all three Deathly Hallows (though not at the same time) and defeating the powerful dark wizard Grindelwald. He was so powerful that he was the only wizard Voldemort truly feared. From Harry’s birth until his own death, Dumbledore had protected Harry to ensure he was ready to face the challenges ahead of him. Severus Snape, on the other hand, loved Harry’s mother Lily since they were children. Despite the fact that Harry reminded him of both the woman he loved and the man who tormented him in Hogwarts, Snape protected Harry even if others saw him as the villain.
Albus is the main character of The Cursed Child. In the play, he and Scorpius feel overshadowed by their fathers’ pasts. They go back in time in an attempt to save Cedric Diggory from dying in 1994, but each time they try to meddle with time, they end up changing their present. At one point, their meddling indirectly allows Voldemort to win the Battle of Hogwarts, kill Harry, and take over the Wizarding World.
Lily Luna Potter
Harry and Ginny’s third child and only daughter are Lily Luna Potter. Seeing as, in The Cursed Child, she entered Hogwarts during Albus’ third year at Hogwarts, she was most likely born in 2008. It’s unknown who her godmother is, though it’s highly likely that it’s her mother’s best friend and her father’s good friend, Luna Lovegood. In 2019, she entered her first year at Hogwarts together with her first cousin, Hugo Granger-Weasley, and was sorted into House Gryffindor, making her older brother Albus the only non-Gryffindor in the family. There’s not much information about her in both the original series and The Cursed Child. She was generally well-behaved and was described to look and act similar to her mother when Ginny was younger.
Most people believe that she was named after her paternal grandmother, Lily Potter, and her parents’ friend Luna Lovegood. However, given that Luna was still alive at the end of the series, it’s weird that Harry and Ginny would honor her by naming their daughter after her. One theory online, however, states that Lily Potter wasn’t named after Luna Lovegood, but Remus Lupin. Of course, they wouldn’t name their daughter “Lupin” or “Lupina,” but they could name her “Luna,” a feminine name close to it. It was also a fitting name given that the name “Luna” is Latin for the moon, which is something relevant to Lupin himself.
Both Lily and Lupin played a huge role in Harry’s life. Lily, Harry’s mother, protected him even after her death. Her sacrifice allowed him to stay safe until his 17th birthday. Lupin, on the other hand, guided Harry and, although was not a total father figure like Sirius was, guided Harry by providing him with the knowledge and advice he needed. He died at the Battle of Hogwarts along with his wife, Nymphadora Tonks, leaving their son Teddy Lupin an orphan.
