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Signed,
The crazy lady who named her daughter Hermione
Really though - it wasn't totally about Harry Potter. I saw the name on a baby name site when I was pregnant and it met the criteria (unusual, old-fashioned, not made up, pretty). I also liked the books, so that was a plus. Back in '03 when I was gestating, the husband and I were actually worried that unstoppable force that is Harry Potter would make the name enormously popular, thereby invalidating criterion #1. That did not happen. After the pregnancy hormones wore off, I started to worry that it was hard to pronounce and spell. But I consoled myself with the thought that the books were SO popular that everybody in her peer group and her teachers would all know the name. That hasn't exactly happened.
All that aside, we did think that Hermione was a good literary namesake - smart, loyal, courageous, attuned to social justice! If you know your Harry Potter dates, you know that we named before all the books were written. I was sweating all the way through Deathly Hallows, hoping Rowling didn't kill off Hermione.
So I have a weird attachment to Harry Potter, beyond what the source material probably deserves. Although - I have read aloud the entirety of Socerer's Stone and about half of Chamber of Secrets (had to stop because it was too scary - we'll pick it back up in a few years), and it is charming, witty and fun to read. Vastly better than The Magic Treehouse.
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