Looks like Naill owes someone an apology

[naill_renfro]

I'll admit it: In the past I have mocked JK Rowling for naming a character "Cho Chang" (a name that no one would actually have) as an act of tokenistic wannabeism, if those are words (which they aren't).  Then I chanced upon a new (to me) Chinese word the other day:

惆怅
If you don't have a Chinese character set installed, that'll probably show up as

Comments

Might be

[alaskaravenclaw]

a Potterian neologism.

Of course when we first meet her she's cheery as can be, but then nomenclature in the wizarding world is oddly prescient, viz. Remus Lupin.

Re: Might be

[naill_renfro]

Yes, that one always bothered me: His parents knew when he was born that he was going to become a werewolf? And Fenrir Greyback's, too? And their various ancestors who adopted those surnames way back when?

I guess I can see why someone named Sprout might end up in Herbology, though.

[dreamtrove]

I would disbelieve if I didn't know people who had given such names.

[mollyringle]

Hmm, pretty cool! Wonder if she actually consulted a Chinese speaker or just got lucky.

[naill_renfro]

I was wondering the same -- she might have just looked it up in a dictionary.

[jjschwabach]

That would be pretty darn lucky, though. In DW, I ended up with characters whose names really fit their roles, but there may have been a subconscious element. I'm going to go with she may actually have consulted a native speaker and said, "This is what this character is like..."

OTOH, we are talking about a woman who, after being rejected eight gazillion times, sold to a small press, and is now, off that same story, richer than, well, just about anyone. So "pretty darned lucky" might play a part in her life.