Just before midnight on 1 November 1981, a rather severe-looking woman named Minerva McGonagall made a revelatory prediction. Although only a tabby cat mere minutes before, she was now standing beside a tall elderly man known as Albus Dumbledore, the two animatedly discussing the orphan baby they would soon leave on the darkened footsteps of number 4 Privet Drive.
She was, of course, completely correct. The baby, a young wizard called Harry Potter, would soon possess one of the most celebrated names on the planet. It was a name that became emblazoned across JK Rowling's novels, which went on to sell 500 million copies worldwide in 74 languages. Four syllables that would garner their own registered trademark and font.
Though, however right McGonagall's prophecy was, she had overlooked something huge. While the Boy Who Lived would soon bear the world’s most famous name, so too would a set of other Harry Potters across the country. The estimated 23 Harry Potters of voting age residing in the UK, for instance.
Is the name a permanent curse to their lives or simply a spellbinding conversation starter? Thanks to a few real Harry Potters, we don’t have to guess the answer to that question. We got to know five of these muggles – or at least wizards well-abiding The Official Magical Secrets Act – to discover exactly how the name has shaped their lives, for better and worse.
Sir Harry Potter, lawyer
If you have ever heard of a Harry Potter without a lightning-shape scar, it’s probably this one. The defence criminal lawyer, legal historian and ordained priest has unleashed his booming Scottish voice across TV and radio, featuring on The One Show and presenting BBC Four’s The Strange Case of the Law – much to the enjoyment of viewers…
View oEmbed on the source websiteNow, you might think a lawyer who is subject to sniggering might not be a very good one in the eyes of the jury. And it’s also reasonable to assume a lawyer who can’t examine witnesses such as the Sheriff of Nottingham or somebody called Michael Caine – as Potter has also done – without inducing chortles throughout the courthouse would be a disaster to a client. Quite the opposite.
However, occasionally his name can accidentally interfere with proceedings. “I once had a client who the judge ordered a psychiatric report for,” remembers Potter. “It came back as this huge 17-page thing that concluded he was delusional because he thought his barrister was Harry Potter. The judge turned to me and said ‘I think we’ll be getting another report, Mr Potter!’”
And amazingly, Rowling replied. And while she broke the bad news that the fictional Potter wasn’t inspired by the lawyer one, Rowling did reveal its source: Harry was simply her favourite name and the Potters were her next-door neighbours.
Like the Harry above, this Potter was born before The Philosopher’s Stone was published – but only by five months. This meant that although not named after the Boy who Lived (“my parents like to make that very clear,” he says), JK Rowling’s Wizarding World has constantly been a part of his own. “It’s always been there, from when I was a kid,” explains Potter. “I was never ‘Harry’ or never just ‘Potter’ – I was always called the full ‘Harry Potter’ at school.”
But as he got older things got more, as Potter puts it, “intense”. “Family holidays were always interesting,” he says. “I don’t know what it is about American immigration, but they really like to make a scene. They have really stern faces for everyone else and then I step up and they’ll shout out ‘oh damn! Harry Potter?!’ and get up to show the other officers my passport.”
“[Oldman] thought it was a joke, but played along. ‘Oh really?’ he said grinning. Then he pulled me forward from the crowd – I was hiding at the back because I knew this would happen. He read my passport, paused and went ‘oh s**t!’ I was really chuffed.”
Harry Potter, marketing & customer services worker
His name soon led to bigger perks, particularly when Potter was invited to the London premiere of The Chamber of Secrets in 2002. “I went with my mum,” he remembers. “All these stars were walking down the carpet and then there was us – all the photographers were left asking ‘who are they?’” And after confounding the national press, Potter was even allowed to view the film with the stars, watching it while sitting next to Vinnie Jones.
However, for a 24-year-old working in the marketing department of a shelving company, the spell has since worn off slightly. Potter still gets emails from clients thanking him for “working his magic”, but his name has become somewhat of a bludger. “I play golf. I really love it so I wanted to enter a competition. So I called up to register and on hearing my name they said it wasn’t April Fool’s Day and slammed the phone down. Sometimes the name really doesn’t work in my favour,” he laughs.
Harry Potter, salesman
And he hasn’t only found the name useful for shifting a sale. For instance, on accidentally arriving to the British Library’s Harry Potter History of Magic exhibition an hour late, Potter was able to gain entry with a flick of his ID. “As soon as my friend told them my name and they checked it we were sent straight in. They even said to not worry about closing time – ‘you stay as long as you want!’”
But perhaps most valuable of all, Potter has been gifted an easy fancy dress idea. “I’ve dressed as a wizard about five times now,” he says. “I think people always think I’d never be up for it, but it’s part of Halloween!”
Harry Potter, fitness & nutrition coach
However, instead of encouraging followers to build a Victor Krum physique, Potter markets himself as a specialist in superhero muscle. In fact, he goes by ‘Harry Ashton Potter’ online to stand out from Hogwarts’ finest. “Also I think just using "Harry Potter" would cause some people to think that I was using a fake name,” he explains.
So, from the story of Harry Potter and the psychiatric report to Harry Potter and the golf club quarrel, each of the above have faced their own unique experience of carrying the boy wizard’s name. But what do these people – hereby Sir Harry, Student Potter, Salesman Potter, Marketing Potter and Fitness Potter – all have in common?
Firstly: the majority prefer JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings – only two of the above actually have a firm grasp of the Potter story. And even those who are fans of the books and films have to admire them privately. “I’m a big fan of both, but I have to pretend that I’m impartial to it,” says Student Potter. “Years ago, I got a pair of Gryffindor winter gloves and got absolutely roasted for wearing them. Never again!”
View Green Video on the source websiteIt’s not an inconvenience reserved for the offline world, either. Each of the Potters has been met by the same disbelief on social media. “I signed up to Facebook when I was 13, but every time a new Potter film came out Facebook banned me thinking that my account wasn’t real,” recalls Student Potter. “Each time I had to send off a scan of my passport and about two weeks later I’d be able to go on Facebook again. It was unbelievably frustrating!”
And he was a Potter lucky enough to be granted an account in the first place. Sites like Facebook and X have denied others, assuming they’re setting up a page with a false name. And ironically, that’s just what they had to do to get accepted. Harry Potters across the globe have been forced to invent a new moniker, either simply utilising the Scandinavian alphabet (here’s a shout out to the Harry Pøtters out there), promoting their middle names or even assuming a pseudonym.
On the plus side, this digital invisibility cloak means your personal details and shared pictures will be Google-proof – identity fraud won’t be a concern. And, if like Sir Harry, you wrote a book before JK Rowling then you might see a boost in sales due to a mass of confused fans (“I imagine children getting books about capital punishment are quite surprised!” he says with a chuckle).
And no, these Harry Potters can’t use their connection to Hogwarts to bolster business either. If they’re not licensed by Warner Bros and try to set up a company that waters down the Harry Potter brand – for example, by setting up a Harry Potter dry cleaners with winks to JK Rowling’s world inside – then they might be heading towards a lawsuit. In fact, a “Harry Potter Dry Cleaners” is one of the most commonly cited examples of trademark dilution in the US.
And even better than securing you a job, going by the name of Harry Potter might win you an election. At least, that’s what happened to Sir Harry. From 2002 he served a term on Greenwich council in London, coming top in his local polls by only two votes. “That was the name,” he says. “In a local election, a few votes are all it needs. And when I was around canvassing I found there were quite a few children that followed me because they heard I was Harry Potter. Recognition helps.”
Our Student Potter also achieved election victory last year, in an uncontested – yet still problematic – contest. “I was running unchallenged to my international students committee, but I wasn’t the only name on the ballot paper. There was me and the acronym for ‘re-open nominations’, just ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘RON’. I was thinking ‘oh god, why me!?’” he laughs. “But usually the name helps. I’m thinking of going into politics and fingers crossed it makes a difference.”
“The name takes away a bit of privacy. When I was three days into university people had heard about me before we met… I think a lot of the conversations I have with new people aren’t made in confidence. You know that they’re going to tell somebody they’ve spoken to you. And depending on how the conversation went, they might share details as well. I know if somebody hears my name they’re probably going to tell five people about it.”
“I remember too walking to a seminar on a busy street and a guy stopping in front of me, taking out his headphones and shouting ‘YOU’RE A WIZARD, HARRY!’. It was quite intense.”
Those who grew up at the height of Pottermania have been particularly influenced by their name. And it’s easy to think why: imagine if you were called Harry Potter and 75 per cent of people you ever met wanted to discuss your name (an estimation given by one Potter). Not only would that be all you’ve known, but it’s also the first impression you leave on everyone else. As Student Potter says: “I do find it bizarre how much it shapes my identity when I first meet people. It can really define me.”
View Green Video on the source websiteTrue, we took a somewhat biased sample of Harry Potters – not only are these the ones who agreed to speak to us, but they’re all Potters who haven’t decided to change their name (the few of these hard-to-find former Potters we contacted declined an interview).
In fact, none said they felt the need to file a deed poll. Pop a name tag on each of the above, stand them in front of the Mirror of Erised and each would still see ‘Harry Potter’ written on the reflected sticker.
It’s also a name that people can’t help but warm towards. Tell somebody you’re called Harry Potter and they’ll instantly think of a beloved childhood character. Barriers are broken down as people plug into JK Rowling’s fantasy world, home of happy memories and adolescent wonder. And, as Sir Harry Potter delicately puts it, “If you were called Hitler or Stalin it would probably put off some, but the name attracts people.
So yes, the Harry Potters we spoke to weren’t without their quibbles and were quick to tell of the woes of constant recognition. But each of their stories finished with a laugh instead of a sigh, a light shining through any possible darkness – much like the real Potter’s Patronus repelling away any dementor.
With all things considered? All was well.
Rowling has also shared her views on social media, including in a 2024 post on X (formerly Twitter), in which she insisted that “there are no trans kids” and opposed the idea that a child can be “born in the wrong body”.
Harry Potter actors including Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson, have distanced themselves from Rowling's views and have issued statements supporting the transgender community. Others, including Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter and Jim Broadbent, have defended the author from the criticism she has received.
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