Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In today’s video, we’re going
to once again be discussing Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. More specifically- we’re
going to be honing in on one particular aspect of his character- his name- and unpacking
its meaning.
"Witness for the defence, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore."
Straight from the man himself- this is Dumbledore’s FULL name- and we’re first exposed to it
during Harry’s disciplinary hearing that takes place before the Wizengamot. Apart from
this scene, Dumbledore’s entire name isn’t really touched on again, and it made me wonder-
where do these names come from? 2 middle names is uncommon enough, I have two, but THREE?
There must be a reason for that.
Today I’m going to be unpacking each and every one of Albus Dumbledore’s names.
Starting with Albus.
Dumbledore’s first name, Albus, is actually the latin word for ‘white’- which bears
a positive connotation- being a symbol for things that are ‘good’. This works well
in contrast with Voldemort who is commonly referred to as the ‘Dark Lord’. Yin and
yang.
While the latin root is most likely the primary motivation for his first name, it’s also
possible (and some fans are convinced of this) that he was named ‘Albus’ in order to
honour the character of ‘Gandalf’ or more specifically ‘Gandalf the white’ from
the lord of the rings. This, however, would not be a suitable IN-UNIVERSE explanation
as it breaks the fourth wall.
Percival.
First and foremost, it should be mentioned that Percival is the name of Albus Dumbledore’s
father, and it’s certainly not uncommon for children to be named after their parents.
We also know that his father Percival was imprisoned in Azkaban while Albus was still
very young. The name Percival is an old French name which means ‘pierce the veil’- and
stems from the old french words meaning ‘pierce’ and ‘valley’. ‘Percival’ was also
one of the esteemed Knights of King Arthur- and notably, the only one that Arthur allowed
to ‘see’ the Holy Grail. The oldest recorded reference to ‘Percival’ in this particular
tale comes from Chretien de Troye’s 12th century Romance ‘Conte du Graal’.
Wulfric.
There is less of an identifiable relationship between Albus and the name ‘Wulfric’-
but if we look at its historical context there are a few ways that it makes sense. Wulfric
is an Anglo-Saxon name, comprised of two components- wulf "wolf" and ric "rich, powerful". It is
widely identified simply as ‘wolf power’, and the name likely alludes to the ‘power’
that Dumbledore’s figure exhibits. It’s also possible that ‘Wulfric’ is an homage
to ‘Wulfric of Haselbury’ a 10th century anchorite and miracle worker from Somerset,
England. Fun fact- I was born in Somerset!
“Wulfric is said to have received the gifts of prophecy and healing and was involved in
many miraculous happenings. He became known as a healer of body, mind and spirit for all
those who sought him out.”
Brian.
Brian, which at first glance may not appear to exude the same sort of etymological grandiosity
as some of his other names, actually has a lot more depth to it than you think. You see,
Brian is a male given name of Celtic origin that means ‘High’ or ‘Noble’. Some
sources even report that the name ‘Brian’ is synonymous with strength. So while it may
not sound like much when matched up against ‘Wulfric’ or ‘Percival’- the name
is still very much fitting of the strong Hogwarts headmaster. Because of the name’s commonality,
it also provides a sort of eccentric and comical ‘edge’ which is befitting of his character.
Dumbledore.
Since Harry Potter first came out, the name ‘Dumbledore’ has been plastered everywhere.
It’s on hundreds of millions of pages and products across the world, and as a name it
has become entirely synonymous with ‘Harry Potter’. However, what a lot of you may
not know is that ‘Dumbledore’ is actually the old Devon word for ‘bumblebee’. When
JK Rowling was choosing a name for Dumbledore’s character, she liked to imagine him ‘humming
to himself a lot’- which is why she drew inspiration from the bee.
And that pretty much sums up the etymology behind all of the names of Hogwart’s most
famous headmaster.
Though of course, just because we’ve covered his names, it certainly doesn’t mean we’ve
covered his titles, which OFFICIALLY include:
-Order of Merlin 1st class -Headmaster of Hogwarts
-Supreme Mugwump And Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot
And Unofficially include:
‘The Champion of Commoners’ and ‘The Greatest Sorcerer of Modern Times’.
No, Dumbledore certainly isn’t short of names.
And that’s it for this video! Did you learn something NEW about Dumbledore? As always,
leave your video suggestions down below.
Until next time
Remember
Time will not slow down when something unpleasant lies ahead