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When I say "the 10 books", I mean the seven Harry Potter novels, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Quidditch Through the Ages, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard. However, I will also gladly accept verifiable information from Pottermore or further supplemental canon information from J.K. Rowling, such as information from interviews, articles, or material posted at J.K. Rowling.com or the Harry Potter Lexicon.

Anyhow, the Harry Potter books are full of characters with interesting and unique names. I notice J.K. Rowling seems to like alliteration. For example: Luna Lovegood, Severus Snape, Pansy Parkinson, Padma and Parvati Patil, Daedelus Diggle, Quirinus Quirrell, Bellatrix Black, Peter Pettigrew, Mary MacDonald, Minerva McGonagall, and so forth. She has gone on the record, admitting her love for names, and for taking great care when assigning a name to a given character.

I know there are unrelated Harry Potter characters with the same last name: "Evans" comes to mind.

Q: Are there any instances of J.K. Rowling using the same first name for two or more separate characters?

For example, is there a Zacharias Smith and Zacharias Zabini?

I’m not looking for, say, “Albus Severus Potter” or the like. The names in the epilogue are obvious.

Slytherincess
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Yes

  • Agatha Chubb was a wizarding archeologist. Not to be confused with Agatha Timms, noted eel farm owner and non-professional gambler.

  • Albert Runcorne was a Ministry of Magic employee. Not to be confused with Albert Boot, The former Minster of Magic (1747-1752).

  • Arthur A. Levine was a noted publisher of books (including 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' and 'Quidditch Through the Ages'). Not to be confused with Arthur Weasley, the father of Harry's best friend, Ron.

  • Augustus Pye was a Trainee healer at St. Mungo’s. Not to be confused with Augustus Rookwood, MoM official and secret Death eater, or Augustus Worme, the editor of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them".

  • Basil was the keeper of the portkeys at the Quidditch World Cup. Not to be confused with Basil Horton, the founder of the Comet trading company or Basil Flack, the former Minister of Magic (1752-1752).

  • Bertie Higgs was a friend of Tiberius and Rufus Scrimgeour. Not to be confused with Bertie Bott, the noted confectioner.

  • Bob Ogden was the MoM employee who visited Morfin Gaunt. Not to be confused with Bob Ollerton, co-founder of the Cleansweep broom company or Bob, the MoM employee that Mr. Weasley and Harry met in the elevator en route to Harry’s hearing.

  • Cassandra Trelawney was a noted seer and grandmother of Sibyll Trelawney. Not to be confused with Cassandra Vablatsky, the author of "Unfogging the Future".

  • Cornelius Agrippa was a noted alchemist with his own Frog card. Not to be confused with Cornelius Fudge, the former Minister of Magic (1990-1996).

  • Daisy Pennifold was the inventor of the modern quaffle. Not to be confused with Daisy Dodderidge, the first landlord of the Leaky Cauldron.

  • Damocles was the inventor the Wolfsbane potion. Not to be confused with Damocles Rowle, the former Minister of Magic (1718-1726).

  • Dennis Creevy was a contemporary of Harry Potter at Hogwarts. Not to be confused with Dennis, the young boy who co-discovered Tom Riddle's seaside cave or Dennis, a member of Dudley's gang.

  • Dugald McLivert was the head of a prominent wizarding family. Not to be confused with Dugald McPhail, the former Minister of Magic (1858-1865).

  • Emeric the Evil was a known holder of the Elder wand. Not to be confused with Professor Emeric Switch, the author of "A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration".

  • Ernest "Ernie" MacMillan was a contemporary of Harry Potter at Hogwarts. Not to be confused with Ernest "Ernie / Ern" Prang, the driver of the Knight Bus.

  • Frank Bryce was the Riddle family's gardener. Not to be confused with Frank Longbottom, Neville's father.

  • Gladys Gudgeon was a huge fan of Gilderoy Lockhart and would often write to him in hospital after his (ahem) accident. Not to be confused with Gladys Boothby, the inventor of the Moontrimmer Broomstick.

  • Harold Dingle was a contemporary of Harry Potter at Hogwarts. Not to be confused with Harold Minchum, the former Minister of Magic (1975-1980).

  • Jacob Erland was a contemporary of Harry Potter at Hogwarts. Not to be confused with Jacob Kowalski, a no-maj baker who assists Newt Scamander.

  • James "Jimmy" Peakes was a contemporary of Harry Potter at Hogwarts. Not to be confused with James Potter, Harry's father.

  • Karl Jenkins is a contemporary of Harry Potter's son Albus at Hogwarts. Not to be confused with Karl Broadmoor, a beater for the Falmouth Falcons noted for his violent disconduct and repeated suspensions.

  • Kevin Whitby was a contemporary of Harry Potter at Hogwarts. Not to be confused with Kevin, the little boy at the Quidditch World Cup who attempted to enlarge a slug or Kevin Broadmoor, the beater of the Falmouth Falcons from 1958 to 1969.

  • Leonard Jewkes was the inventor of the Silver Arrow Racing Broom. Not to be confused with Leonard Spencer-Moon, the former Minister of Magic (1939-1948).

  • Lily Moon was a contemporary of Harry Potter at Hogwarts. Not to be confused with Lily Potter, Harry Potter's mother.

  • Marcus Flint was a contemporary of Harry Potter at Hogwarts. Not to be confused with Marcus Belby, whose uncle Damocles invented the Wolfsbane potion.

  • Mafalda was a distant relation of Molly Weasley, not to be confused with Mafalda Hopkirk, an employee of the Ministry of Magic.

  • Mary Cattermole was the Muggle-born wife of Reginald Cattermole. Not to be confused with Mary Riddle, the Muggle wife of Thomas Riddle or Mary MacDonald, a contemporary of James and Lily Potter, Harry's parents.

  • Millicent Bulstrode was a contemporary of Harry Potter at Hogwarts. Not to be confused with Millicent Bagnold, the former Minister of Magic (1980-1990).

  • Modesty Rabnott was inspiration for the inventor of the golden snitch. Not to be confused with Modesty, a young lady in the employ of Newt Scamander

  • Montague was a contemporary of Harry Potter at Hogwarts and Slytherin Quidditch player. Not to be confused with Montague Knightley, the noted Wizard Chess Champion.

  • Percival Dumbledore was Albus Dumbledore's father. Not to be confused with Percival "Percy" Weasley, the brother of Harry's best friend, Ron.

  • Tiberius Ogden was an Elder of the Wizengamot. Not to be confused with Cormac McLaggen's Uncle Tiberius, a member of the Slug Club.

  • Tom "the Barman" was the barman at the Leaky Cauldron. Not to be confused with Tom Riddle Jr., a dark wizard of some repute.

  • Wilfred Elphick was the first man to be gored by an erumpent. Not to be confused with Wilfred the Wistful, whose statue can be seen in the hallways of Hogwarts.

  • Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank worked as a substitute Care of Magical Creatures teacher. Not to be confused with Wilhelmina Tuft, the former Minister of Magic.

  • William "Bill" Weasley was the brother of Harry's best friend, Ron. Not to be confused with William "Bill" Ollerton, the founder of the Cleansweep broom company or William/Billy, the orphan whose pet rabbit a young Tom Riddle killed or William "Honest Willy” Wagstaff, purveyor of faulty wands and defective defensive charms or William "Willy" Widdershins, toilet vandal and part-time MoM spy or William "Will", the toad thief with whom Mundungus does business.

and last, but not least (and especially relevant given the question)

  • Zacharias Smith was a contemporary of Harry Potter at Hogwarts. Not to be confused with Zacharias Mumps, who wrote an account of quidditch in the 14th Century.
Valorum
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    This looks like a nice answer, but what is your source for each name? Where did you find the information for each? – Slytherincess Jul 20 '15 at 22:39
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    @Slytherincess - I'm working through http://magical-menagerie.com/wizardry/full-character-listing/ - Only using characters who appear (by name) in one of the 10 books. – Valorum Jul 20 '15 at 22:40
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    I've ignored all of the "next generation"; Rose Weasley = Rose Zeller, Albus Potter = Albus Dumbledore, etc. – Valorum Jul 20 '15 at 23:15
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    She really named a bus driver "Prang"? That's a tiny bit tasteless :-P – hobbs Jul 21 '15 at 02:29
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    @hobbs Oh! That pun never even occurred to me. Such a fitting one, too, given his driving skills. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Jul 21 '15 at 08:07
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    @JanusBahsJacquet, and a Shunpike is a side road used to avoid the traffic of a main road (OK I admit I googled that one) – Mac Cooper Jul 21 '15 at 09:03
  • @MacCooper Funny, that one has been clear to me for years. I guess I just never paid much attention to Ern’s last name—he's always just “Ern(ie)”, whereas Stan is usually Stan Shunpike. I've always read Shunpike as a double pun, implying that he's a bit of a coward as well (he shuns [weapon] pikes). – Janus Bahs Jacquet Jul 21 '15 at 09:08
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    Magisterial answer. – EleventhDoctor Jul 21 '15 at 13:09
  • Do you have a reference that Tom Riddle was named Thomas? I thought her mother asked to named her Tom, and the orphanage probably wouldn't contradict. – b_jonas Jul 22 '15 at 08:15
  • There's a student named Mary too: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Muggles%27_Guide_to_Harry_Potter/Characters/Mary_Macdonald – b_jonas Jul 22 '15 at 08:37
  • @b_jonas - No reference that I can find. Corrected. – Valorum Jul 22 '15 at 09:19
  • Isn't Montague the surname of the slytherin quidditch player? – T. Verron Jul 22 '15 at 14:10
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    @t.verron - according to the HP Wiki his forename does not come from the books (where he's simply known as Montague), it comes from a video game. If it was canon, i'd have matched him with his fellow Slytherin, Graham Pritchard. – Valorum Jul 22 '15 at 14:24
  • A couple of nitpicks: I can't find "Theodore" Lupin anywhere in canon. Only "Teddy" Lupin. Montague is Harry's contemporary's last name, as opposed to Montague Knightley. I know people think I'm a wet blanket when I'm specific about the sources I want to see, but I trust the books more than any wiki. Also, I'm editing my original post to include the Harry Potter Lexicon, which I do find trustworthy. – Slytherincess Jul 22 '15 at 22:42
  • @Slytherincess - There's no evidence (other than from the Harry Potter PS3 Quidditch game) that Montague is his surname. As written, it's used as a first name – Valorum Jul 22 '15 at 23:08
  • Is there any evidence that Karl Jenkins was named by J.K. Rowling? – ibid Aug 02 '16 at 03:20
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    @ibid - Nothing definitive, but her name is written in twenty foot high letters outside the theatre, so she's clearly involved in some way. – Valorum Nov 19 '16 at 10:47
  • @ibid - Per Pottermore "It’s official. The Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series" – Valorum Nov 19 '16 at 23:42
  • @ibid - I was reading an interview with JKR a few days back. She was actually pretty hands on in the filmmaking process, vetoing certain characters, inspecting props, refusing to allow spells to be changed, etc. – Valorum Nov 20 '16 at 00:45
  • @ibid - I was referring to the earlier HP films. – Valorum Nov 20 '16 at 00:51
  • @Valorum - Funny, I never noticed it there before. – ibid Nov 20 '16 at 01:03
  • @ibid - https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B5sQMHEVgq8/V6D9Bbq4osI/AAAAAAACX8I/ytXB0a1br1UcpEoUuxm79S37auXD5nInACLcB/s800/Harry%2BPotter%2Bcursed%2Bchild%2Bbook%2Bbillboard.jpg – Valorum Nov 20 '16 at 01:11
  • @Valorum - That's A)Another example of "eight story", not "eight book", and B)From the marketing team, not from Rowling (who has even corrected people on twitter for calling it "another Harry Potter book"). – ibid Nov 20 '16 at 01:19
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    @Slytherincess "Teddy" Lupin (and his grandfather "Ted" Tonks are both Edward, not Theodore. http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Edward_Tonks http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Edward_Lupin Ted=Theodore is pretty much an Americanism. See Theo Nott http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Theodore_Nott – pleurocoelus Feb 10 '17 at 21:38
  • I think I read somewhere that Cassandra Vlabatsky is actually a pen-name for Cassandra Trelawney, but I can't remember where. – Arnaud D. May 20 '17 at 11:04
  • @ArnaudD. - I don't believe that to be the case. – Valorum May 20 '17 at 11:18
  • The Berties would also be Alberts. – OrangeDog May 20 '17 at 15:22
  • @Orangedog - Unless it was short for Robert or Bertram, you mean? – Valorum May 20 '17 at 16:51
  • @Valorum then they might match the Bobs instead :) – OrangeDog May 20 '17 at 17:24
  • I wonder if there’s any other Bellatrix... – Obsidia Jan 27 '18 at 02:06
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    @Bellatrix - As far as I can tell, there's only the one Bellatrix. She's a true original. – Valorum Jan 27 '18 at 07:12
  • @Valorum Thanks so much for checking for me! :D – Obsidia Jan 27 '18 at 15:19
  • I can't comments on each, but as far as I know, Lily Moon was a previous name for other character (probably Luna Lovegood) that was changed afterwards, so there was no character with such name actually. – Shana Tar Oct 02 '18 at 12:25
  • Nicholas Flamel, creator of the Philosophers' Stone, and Nicholas de Mimsey-Porpington, the nearly headless ghost of Hogwarts. – Pete Dec 29 '22 at 05:42
  • @Pete - Considered and rejected, I'm afraid. "with his partner, Nicolas Flamel" vs, "I don’t think I’ve introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington" - Not spelled the same – Valorum Dec 29 '22 at 08:16
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I can’t hope to beat @Richard’s frankly excellent answer. But I can highlight one pair* that I’m shocked he missed…

  • In Pottermore for Playstation Home, there’s a plaque in Gryffindor Tower listing one Richard Carter as Gryffindor Quidditch Captain:

    enter image description here

  • At The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, there’s a signup sheet for Quidditch which includes Richard Sky.

    enter image description here

*I’m scraping the barrel of canonicity here, and you could argue that these names probably weren’t chosen by JK Rowling herself, but once I spotted this I thought it couldn’t go unmentioned.

alexwlchan
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Millicent Bulstrode was a Slytherin during Harry's time at Hogwarts. Millicent Bagnold was the minister of magic preceding Fudge.

Ryan
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