Names!

[Astor Arensin]

So, I've seen quite a lot of lovely and interesting names running around the castle and on the Marauder's Map.
I'd like to know what the reasoning behind everyone's names was!

For mine, Astor (or Ashton, as Tarma likes to call me...) was, really, out of nowhere. I had no reasoning behind it other than I wanted a named that started with the letter A and was fairly short. As for Arensin, it's a play on words! It can either be seen as "A Wren's In(n)" or "A Wren Sin." It was originally going to be Arenson though, until I decided to turn it into that play on words. So, originally it would have meant "A Wren Son" as a reference towards my love of birds, as well as animals in general.

What about everyone else? What was your reasoning behind your names? Or perhaps, what does it mean?

[Prof. Polaris Black]

When I joined HOL, I chose the name Polaris Black. My RL surname is a derivative of Black and since most Black family members are named after stars or constellations, I chose Polaris because it was unique to several websites and services.

[Prof. Sky Alton]

Mine is pretty boring. Sky Alton is a character in the first novel I ever wrote (for NaNoWriMo 2012) and I was still very much into that fictional universe when I signed up to HOL almost a year later (also, I was in a hurry as back then, there was only a narrow window where HOL accepted signups). I think I only chose her name because it sounded quite nice put together. I really like the feel of air and wind around me and some nights, I feel like I could just step into the sky so it's a name that has always appealed. Alton is an actual sirname (actually the name of a theme park a couple of counties over) but I didn't think about that when I randomly combined syllables.

I never really envisaged that HOL would become such a big part of my life a few years after I signed up so it's a bit weird how the name is now doubly significant.

[Prof. Kendra Givens]

I wanted to choose a name that matched my RL initials. I wasn't even thinking of Kendra Dumbledore when I picked it, I just wanted a K name that was relatively unusual and cool sounding. Givens was originally Goyle because I couldn't think of anything else, but I really didn't want to be associated with one of the biggest jerks in the series. Givens just random came to me and sounded decent enough.

Then Gail wrote me a really sweet poem using Givens as a play on words and I loved it even more. I might like my HOL name better than my RL name...

[Prof. Alexander Brighton]

Lex is sort of like my codename with my friends in real life, so I wanted to do something with that. Lex is often short for Alex and Alex is sometimes short for Alexander, so I decided to go with Alexander. Then Brighton because Bright means smart. I was going to go with Alexander Bright, but decided to add on to the end of it.

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

Ashton.

I have my name, Tarma, from the character Tarma shena Tale'sedrin in series of books, The Oathbound, by Mercedes Lackey. It was either Tarma or Kethry, and Tarma suits me better, both as a name and personality in the stories.

For a family name, I chose 'Black' because 1) I wear a lot of black and 2) Sirius Black (although I'd also have probably been happy with Lupin, too, both for Remus Lupin and well, Dennis Moore).

As a student I assumed the middle name of Amelia, even though it wasn't part of my 'official' HOL name (see siggy I sometimes use - yes, that is my student siggy. The Cheeky One, Cosmo, created it and I love it and it was my first ever siggy). Amelia is the name of an Alba rose, which dates from 1823.

[Silver Myst]

As odd as it sounds I actually have used this before in a lot of places. I am a big fan of wolves and in any game, if I get a light-colored wolf as a pet I name it Silver Myst. I first used it when I played world of warcraft years ago in the original name the wolf that I made this name for was that character's first pet. I have just continuously use it in variations depending on the circumstances.

[February Fortescue]

I chose my name because I wanted something a bit odd, like many characters in the series. I love alliteration, so I knew I wanted 2 of the same letters. Ice cream is my absolute favorite food, and after reading about Florean Fortescue's backstory (the one Rowling decided not to use), and also because there was a Headmaster named Dexter (also a Showtime tv series character) Fortescue, I knew I wanted to use that name. I was born in February, and thought February Fortescue definitely sounded a bit odd

[Prof. Scarlet Leslie-Lewis]

I also stuck with my RL initials. I love colors, so I decided to go with a color that starts with S. "Scarlet" is also seven letters long, which is the same length as my first name. "Leslie" is the name of an upperclassman who I admired for her volleyball skills. When it showed up on a search for surnames beginning with L, it just made sense to use it.

When I decided to switch houses, I was going to change my last name (S-S-SLewis has a nice ring to it, don't you think?). But a certain someone said it'll be weird for me to seek without "Leslie" in my name. So that's who I blame for my super long hyphenated name.

[Velvetina Belle]

My name comes from two places. Velvetina was the name I came up with when I first ever roleplayed/wrote fanfiction many moons ago and Belle was my childhood nickname. So putting them together feels familiar and comforting!

[Charlie Spencer]

I've just always liked the name Charlie; if I had to change my IRL name, it would be to Charlie. It wasn't inspired by Charlie Weasley or anything (I'm actually quite bad at Quidditch), and to clear up some possible confusion, I am in fact a girl. I had absolutely no idea what I wanted my last name to be, so I resorted to a name generator and fell in love with how Charlie Spencer sounds.

[Evie Figg]

My HOL name has the same initials as my real name, E & F. I never planned that, it just happened!

I chose Evangeline, "Evie" as this was my great-great-great grandmother's name, who passed away in 1945. My cousin recently wrote a book about our entire family's origin, and I was just so drawn to this beautiful name, as it stood out amongst the rest! I was so proud to call her my relative!

I decided to have my nickname as "Evie" because my favourite Pokemon just so happens to be Eevee, so all I did was change the spelling.

As far as my last name Figg, it is an homage to Arabella Figg, as I too am a major cat lover!! It is also a tribute to Professor Fig from Hogwarts Legacy.

[Adeline Morior]

When I started playing on any and all HP platforms I just kind of made a name up on the spot, I liked it a lot and loved how it sounded, and have kept it as my character name ever since.

[Hiya Debnath]

My name means "Heart", in the spiritual sense rather than being a reference to the biological organ.

[Dibyarup James Potter]

My name "Dibyarup" means "Divine Avatar". Dibya/Divya = Divine, Rup/Roop = Avatar.