The family name derives from the Latin maleficus, meaning evil-doer. In medieval times the word was used to describe witches, whose evil acts were called maleficia. Witchcraft scholar Rosemary Ellen Guiley writes: “In its narrowest definition, maleficia meant damage to crops and illness or death to animals. In its broadest, it included anything with a negative impact upon a person: loss of love, storms, insanity, disease, bad luck, financial problems, lice infestations, even death. If a villager muttered a threat or a wish for calamity upon someone and misfortune of any sort occurred to the victim—maleficia. If the local wise woman administered a remedy for an illness and the patient worsened or died—maleficia. If a hail storm destroyed the crop, the cows wouldn’t give milk or the horse went lame—maleficia.” One of the first books on witchcraft and sorcery, the most significant of its time, was titled Malleus Maleficarum (“The Witch’s Hammer”). Published in 1486, it was written by two witch hunters to help others catch witches. For two hundred years it was the most popular book after the Bible. The Latin word has been preserved in many languages. For instance, maleficent in English is defined as harmful or evil in intent or effect. Mal foi is French for “bad faith.”

Draco has a double meaning in Latin, both “dragon” and “snake.” (Many languages used the same word for both.) Not surprisingly, Draco Malfoy is a Slytherin.

Draco’s father is Lucius Malfoy—an echo of “Lucifer,” which has come to be a name for the Devil. That fits Lucius, a powerful Death Eater.

Draco’s mother is Narcissa. Her name comes from Greek myth. The story goes that a handsome young man named Narcissus was very vain, so he was cursed by a god to fall in love with himself. Narcissus fell into a river while admiring his own reflection and drowned.