33

Lord Voldemort is known to most of the wizarding world as "Lord Voldemort."

Would he have been named this on the Marauder's Map or would he have been called "Tom Riddle"?

6
  • 19
    I'm hoping it would say Tom 'Lord Voldemort' Riddle like a wrestler.
    – ThruGog
    Feb 17, 2017 at 16:15
  • 16
    @ThruGog The Dark Lord Tom Marvolo "You Know Who" "He Who Must Not Be Named" "Lord Voldemort" Riddle
    – user11521
    Feb 17, 2017 at 17:24
  • 11
    @Michael - Ironic that someone with so many names should be given the title 'He Who Must Not Be Named.'
    – ThruGog
    Feb 17, 2017 at 17:39
  • 4
    Scabbers showed up as Peter Pettigrew instead of Wormtail, so Voldemort would probably show up as Tom Marvolo Riddle
    – user13267
    Feb 18, 2017 at 6:49
  • 9
    @ThruGog, versus Harry 'The Boy Who Lived' Potter. Would make a greate wrestling match
    – catemperor
    Feb 18, 2017 at 13:13

5 Answers 5

35

Film logic

The map in the film appears to shows the person's chosen name, not their given name. That's why Newton Scamander's name shows up as Newt.

Presumably "Lord Voldemort" would show up with that name, rather than "Tom Riddle."

Marauders' Map--film version

Book logic

The map in the book appears to shows the person's given name, not their chosen name. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry spies "Bartemius Crouch" in Moody's rooms. Had it been using Barty Crouch's preferred name, it presumably would have shown up as "Barty Crouch".

Presumably "Tom Riddle" would show up with that name, rather than "Lord Voldemort".

Peeves was not the only thing that was moving. A single dot was flitting around a room in the bottom left-hand corner – Snape’s office. But the dot wasn’t labelled ‘Severus Snape’ … it was Bartemius Crouch.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE — The Egg and the Eye

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  • 2
    For film logic, I'm not convinced. "Newton Scamander" was not his canon name at that point that graphic was written. As far as the producers would be concerned, "Newt Scamander" would be his full name. Feb 17, 2017 at 15:08
  • 6
    @TenthJustice - Indeed. However if we presume that the films are at the same canon level, the fact that one contradicts the other isn't really our problem.
    – Valorum
    Feb 17, 2017 at 15:12
  • 8
    @TenthJustice - The original Fantastic Beasts charity book contained his full name and was published in 2001, the same year as the release of the very first Potter film.
    – ThruGog
    Feb 17, 2017 at 16:09
  • 6
    @ThruGog - Indeed; i.stack.imgur.com/xmTW8.png
    – Valorum
    Feb 17, 2017 at 16:24
  • 4
    @Yakk - To your last sentence I say this: You're in the wrong place!
    – ThruGog
    Feb 17, 2017 at 20:02
14

I'll say "Tom Riddle" for one very simple reason: Voldemort was in Hogwarts for an entire year, during which the twins had the Marauder's Map. It's understandable that Fred and George would see the name "Tom Riddle" right next to Quirrell's and not bat an eye (just like they did with "Peter Pettigrew"). But "Lord Voldemort" in the castle would HAVE to be noticed.

And as others have pointed out, people like Fake Mad-Eye and transmogrified Sirius and Peter show up under their real names on the map. Hard to see why Voldemort would come up as an alias.

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  • 20
    You're assuming Voldermort would show up when he was attached to Quirrell?
    – Valorum
    Feb 17, 2017 at 15:21
10

Tom Riddle

I can't see that the Map would be able to distinguish between someone's birth name and any subsequent aliases that they might've adopted. It is just a map; it has no way of telling what someone likes to be called and no awareness of the huge cultural impact surrounding a name like 'Voldemort'. I don't think the Map cares much for nicknames or aliases; its magic simply writes the first name and surname of each individual, regardless of who that person is or what name others may use to refer to them.

The most telling example we have to demonstrate this is that of Sirius Black. Black also goes by the alias/nickname Padfoot. Yet on the map he is labelled with his full name.

“And then I saw another dot, moving fast toward you, labelled Sirius Black..."
(Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 17, Cat, Rat and Dog).

If the Marauder's Map was unwilling to ere from its First Name-Surname format for one of its own creators then I doubt that it would do so for anybody else. The natural conclusion is that 'Tom Riddle' would show up on the Map.

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  • 4
    That's his nickname though, not his given name or even his chosen name.
    – Valorum
    Feb 17, 2017 at 15:00
  • 2
    @Valorum What's the difference between a given name and a nickname as far as the Map is concerned? Do you think the Map can tell how widely used an alias is or how the individual concerned introduces themselves? Feb 17, 2017 at 22:57
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With Voldemort, there's more than just the name to consider. Harry never jumped in panic when he found his own name on the map, so we know the horcruxes didn't register. Maybe the map only shows complete souls; I'd guess that it can't resolve a soul fragment next to one that's intact.

As to whether the main bit of Voldemort had something the horcruxes didn't, or was "bright" enough to register on the map when nobody was around, I don't know, but I'm sure Voldemort would have made himself unplottable in any case.

-1

He would most likely appear on the map as Lord Voldemort. as user Valorum mentioned, the map in the movie appears to use a person's chosen name, not their given name. Unlike Peter Pettigrew, who was actively trying to hide, nothing about Lord Voldemort's name is him trying to hide from who he is, it is representative of who he is.

1
  • Barty Crouch Jr. showed up as Barty Crouch Jr. in GoF despite the fact that he was impersonating Moody. Feb 17, 2017 at 21:51

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