The next generation of Harry Potter fans are here, and they’ve already received a big seal of approval from none other than J.K. Rowling herself.
Literary names have long inspired real baby names—Arya and Khaleesi have gone up in popularity in recent years because of Game of Thrones. And with a wealth of rich character names to choose from in the Harry Potter books, the possibilities are endless.
When Rowling originally named Hermione, she consciously chose “a fairly unusual name” because she didn’t want young girls who were like her to be made fun of for it. But many fans saw inspiration in Hermione throughout the series and wanted to give that name to their children.
One new parent who just named her daughter Hermione shared the news with Rowling on Twitter, to which Rowling offered her congratulations.
https://twitter.com/Chickpeas3ways/status/702108905774649344
🎀🌺🌸🌹Congratulations!🌷🌸🌺🎀 https://t.co/fEHybi1J0G
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) February 23, 2016
Soon enough, other parents who named their children—and pets—after Harry Potter characters came out of the woodwork.
https://twitter.com/MirnieEllerbe/status/702143332995051520
@jk_rowling @Chickpeas3ways meet Harry you can see his mark better here pic.twitter.com/xVjzdeC2Yg
— Jes Lauren (@Jesschica22) February 23, 2016
https://twitter.com/nefarious_vix/status/702125517172944897
Another parent tweeted at Rowling about reading the books to her daughter before she was born, and while she wasn’t named after a Harry Potter character, she did have her own mark like Harry.
@jk_rowling I read all the #HarryPotter books while pregnant. This is my daughter Sofia with her #harrypottermark⚡️ pic.twitter.com/7mFzVxewp5
— jo_mak (@jo_mak) February 23, 2016
Well, I'm not going to apologise because I think she looks beautiful! ♥️⚡️ https://t.co/phBSlo14ME
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) February 23, 2016
The post-Harry Potter generation is here, and as more longtime fans become parents, that number will only grow.
H/T Mashable | Photo via Daniel Ogren/Flickr (CC BY 2.0) | Remix by Max Fleishman