Voldemort and Harry: Names

mister-tom-a-dildo-lover:

nopeachesforme:

mister-tom-a-dildo-lover:

I would just like to point out how familiar Voldemort is with Harry’s name.

All throughout the series we can tell who is on good terms with Harry by how they refer to him.

Dumbledore: *gently* Harry.

Severus: *sneered* Potter!

Draco: *jeeringly* Scarhead!

Hermione: *happily* Harry!

Umbridge: *tittered* Mr. Potter!

Vernon: *enraged* POTTAH!

Molly: *relieved* Harry.

Usually, the people he is on good terms with, call him by his given name. And those who use his given name who aren’t close to him, are usually trying to get something from him.

And then we have Voldemort who literally calls him ‘Harry’ or ‘Harry Potter’ on a constant basis. He calls Harry by name more often than anyone else in the series. And he does so unnecessarily. As if he needs to remind Harry that Voldemort is speaking to him.

Voldemort already has issues with being an attention seeker – he monologued in GoF for a whole chapter, fyi – but it seems that he really likes to have Harry’s attention above all others.

Voldemort does not refer to many by their given names, either in the books or in the films. Usually given names are saved for his ‘favorites’. People he finds uninteresting, annoying, or worthless are referred to by their surnames.

Barty, Bellatrix, Severus, sometimes Lucius, and Nagini most certainly are favorites. And yet others are: Wormtail, Crabbe, Macnair, Dumbledore, mudbloods, blood traitors etc… It shows whom he actually holds in higher regard.

Interesting how Harry slots into that group of people who Voldemort actually calls by their given name.

It was something I noticed early on and to this day I still find it interesting and tend to use it a lot in my fanfics.

Lord Voldemort’s obsession with Harry Potter goes far deeper than just wanting to kill him.

Using someone’s name is a great way to influence them.

“Dale Carnegie, the author of How to Win Friends and Influence People, believed that using someone’s name was incredibly important. He said that a person’s name is the sweetest sound in any language for that person. A name is the core part of our identity, and so hearing it validates our existence, which makes us much more inclined to feel positively about the person who validated us.”

So there’s that.

This!

Also, referring to people by their given names is considered an intimate practice in many parts of the world.