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Original poster

Is this TOO Harry Potter-y?!!!

61 replies

DLB22 · 29/03/2018 19:46

Found out today that we are having a girl. DH and I agreed on a first name ages ago but I'm thinking about middle names. My great great grandmother was a Swiss lady called Hedwig. I think it is really pretty and unusual but DH not so keen! I am a huge Harry Potter fan but would never intentionally seek out a themed name. I like the name itself and the family connection. I am named after my Swiss great aunt (middle name). Just wondered what others think about Hedwig and would you always associate with Harry Potter?!!!

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pieceofpurplesky · 03/04/2018 20:49

I teach a Hermione - named after her grandmother. She hates being asked if her parents loved Harry Potter - and Hermione is a name that people have heard of. Hedwig is not a common name in the UK ...

MilesHuntsWig · 03/04/2018 20:48

Love it! Hedy for short like Hedy Lamarr!

BossWitch · 03/04/2018 20:45

Ooh Alice and Frank?

CaviarAndCigarettes · 03/04/2018 20:43

@TheImprobableGirl no not that obscure! Just not key players in the main game. We heard of them in the pensieve and met them at st. Mungo's.

Thankfully they are both also family names so happily hidden!

RavenWings · 03/04/2018 20:42

I think it absolutely screams Harry Potter (which I don't see going away, it's insanely popular in schools). I'd use Heddy.

MammieBear · 03/04/2018 20:39

I don't think it's an easy name for a child to wear but I wouldn't say it isn't usable children tend to be more accommodating than adults... If you decide to retire think may I suggest to you:
Hester
Hildegard
Gertrude
Anneleise
Heidi
Gerda

squoosh · 03/04/2018 20:36

As a middle name, fine. But as a first name Hedwig would be quite intense. The kind of name that would have you yearning to be called Jane.

TheImprobableGirl · 03/04/2018 20:31

Very important yet obscure... Merope? Grin There aren't many Potter people i'm unfamiliar with, although I am assuming not Fridwulfa, or the gurg of the giants

Madmarchpear · 03/04/2018 20:28

It doesn't sound very nice imo. Like blodwen or brunhilda it sounds very masculine and of the dark ages...although the meanings are lovely! I don't know how a teenage girl would feel about it.

windchimesabotage · 03/04/2018 20:26

I think Hedwig is a lovely name and I reckon Harry Potter will have died down a bit (altho never quite gone away as I do think it will be a lasting childrens classic) by the time your daughter is an adult. So I dont think people will constantly be thinking of the owl.

Love the film Hedwig and the angry Inch!! Not sure its so well known as to cause any problem at all however. And she is German isnt she? (the film character not the actor) Im sure there are a lot of German women called Hedwig.

PinkAvocado · 03/04/2018 20:25

Definitely fine for a middle name.

MarthaArthur · 03/04/2018 20:24

I love it. Heddy lemarr was hedwig and you couldnt pick a better role model for your dd

CaviarAndCigarettes · 03/04/2018 20:23

Lovely!
Two of ours are obscure characters that are only mentioned a few times, however they're very important characters 😊

TheImprobableGirl · 03/04/2018 20:19

too many -'s

Miss Lestrange and Miss Pomfrey

TheImprobableGirl · 03/04/2018 20:19

It's Ronaldina isn't it? Wink
I went for a Trix (also nods to my twilight obsession) and a - Pomfrey Grin

Obscure enough for my husband to know nothing - although he isn't actually aware of Hermione either, struggling with a third though! I quite like Arianna but the connotations aren't as good, will possibly start a thread nearer to the time Grin

squoosh · 03/04/2018 20:04

Wasn't aware of the Potter association but immediately thought of Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

CaviarAndCigarettes · 03/04/2018 20:00

@TheImprobableGirl my third was a slight cheat. Female version of a male name.
I also liked Luna but my husband this far has no idea that our children are named after Harry Potter Characters and I felt that may give the game away!
I also considered Penelope (Clearwater)

TheImprobableGirl · 29/03/2018 21:02

Ooh Caviar, I'm looking for a third - got a while to think about it but can't find any more. Wanted Luna, but theres about 7 around here now bloody john legend

CaviarAndCigarettes · 29/03/2018 20:29

I have three children all of whom have Harry Potter names 😂
Nothing too Harry Pottter-y here!

TheVanguardSix · 29/03/2018 20:26

Children are way more accepting of names than adults I find.

This is SO true.

TheVanguardSix · 29/03/2018 20:26

I think if there's a family connection, then go for it.
There's something really great about an unusual name and hearing the story behind it. "Our Swiss great-grandmother's name was Hedwig" is very cool and it's a connection to who you are of, who your DD is of.

I've been doing my family tree and I'm kicking myself for not starting this tree before I had kids! There are some amazing names, over and over again, generation after generation. I wish I'd used their names for my own children.

chezmk1988 · 29/03/2018 20:24

Yes it Is and it's not a good nice imo

SummerRoberts · 29/03/2018 20:10

No such thing as TOO Harry Pottery!! Wink

Original poster
DLB22 · 29/03/2018 20:05

Oh god I'd never heard about Hedwig and the angry inch!! Veto!! Thanks for the heads up!

OP posts:
grasspigeons · 29/03/2018 20:05

I haven't heard of an angry inch

I didn't realise Hedwig was a real name - I thought JKR invented it so I have learned something

Children are way more accepting of names than adults I find.

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