Skip to main content

harry potter - Why did Tom Riddle change his name to Voldemort?


Why did Tom Riddle change his name to Voldemort? What was the point of Lord Voldemort, specifically, not Lord Tom or, Lord Riddle? Tom Riddle was his officially documented name, after all...



Answer



Voldemort despised his Muggle father, who was also named Tom Riddle for 1) being a Muggle, something Tom Riddle Sr. couldn't help, and 2) for leaving his mother Merope Gaunt while she was still pregnant with Tom Riddle. I interpret canon to mean Tom Riddle took on the moniker "Voldemort" mainly to distance himself from the name Tom Riddle and his Muggle side of the family. He also wanted a name that wizards and witches the world around would fear to hear or speak. "I am Lord Voldemort" from Chamber of Secrets is an anagram for Tom Marvolo Riddle.




‘You think I was going to use my filthy Muggle father’s name for ever? I, in whose veins runs the blood of Salazar Slytherin himself, through my mother’s side? I, keep the name of a foul, common Muggle, who abandoned me even before I was born, just because he found out his wife was a witch? No, Harry. I fashioned myself a new name, a name I knew wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak, when I had become the greatest sorcerer in the world!’

Chamber of Secrets - page 231 - UK Hardcover - chapter 17, The Heir of Slytherin



I researched it and apparently "Voldemort" means "flight of death" in French (Vol de mort). I confirmed this with Gilles, who is French, and he said it can also mean "theft of death." Either are appropriate when one reviews Voldemort's primary objective to avoid death, to essentially steal his own death away from the inevitability of mortality by creating Horcruxes. This is just my personal observation -- J.K. Rowling's university degree is in French, and she taught French for at least two years. I'm not sure how she didn't know that Voldemort means flight of death. I'm certainly not suggesting she's lying; it's just interesting.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...

aliens - Interstellar Zoo story

I vaguely remember this story from my childhood: it was about an interstellar zoo that came to Earth with lots of bizarre and unusual species, and humans would file through and gape at all the crazy looking creatures from other planets. The twist came at the end when the perspective shifted to the other side of the bars and we discovered that the "creatures" were traveling through space on a kind of safari. They thought they were the visitors and we were the animals. Neither side knew that the other side thought they were the zoo creatures. Answer Got it. Zoo, by Edward D. Hoch. Published in 1958. Link to Publication History Link to PDF

harry potter - Does Animagus transformation alter the level of intelligence?

I found this quote: No spell yet devised enables wizards to fly unaided in human form. Those few Animagi who transform into winged creatures may enjoy flight, but they are a rarity. The witch or wizard who finds him- or herself transfigured into a bat may take to the air, but, having a bat’s brain, they are sure to forget where they want to go the moment they take flight. Quidditch Through the Ages - Page 1 - Scholastic Edition at this place: https://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/7783/13716 Since it is from a reputable user I doubt the quote is wrong However, this raises the question, does changing into an animal also change one's level of intelligence into that animal? The way the Animagi in the books act in their animal form sort of indicates that they keep their human level intelligence (for example, Rita Skeeter, in terms of intelligence, should have been on the lowest end of the scale when transformed, but still she is able to find out information as a beetle, as well as remember...