--- description: A new biography about JK Rowling spills secrets about the Harry Potter series title: How the 'Harry Potter' Books Might Have Had Different Titles image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc17aa9eeeaaea135/69868adacd684814d709429f/220927_full.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Books](/tag/books/) ## Books Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How the _Harry Potter_ Books Might Have Had Different Titles by [ashley Ross](/author/ashley-ross/) ## ashley Ross Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 26, 2015 4:25 PM CUT  HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN, Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, 2004, (c) Warner Brothers HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN, Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, 2004, (c) Warner BrothersWarner Bros. by [ashley Ross](/author/ashley-ross/) ## ashley Ross Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 26, 2015 4:25 PM CUT _Entertainment Weekly_ has an exclusive excerpt of Philip W. Errington’s new book, _J.K. Rowling: A Bibliography 1997–2013,_ and even the most ardent Potter fans will be surprised to learn a few things about the beloved series. In particular, what the books were almost called. The first book, called _Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone_ in the U.K. almost went out in the U.S. as _Harry Potter and the School of Magic._ And thankfully Rowling dismissed that as a possibility. But other books in the series almost had other titles, too, like _Harry Potter and the Death Eaters_ or _Harry Potter and the Three Champions_ for Goblet of Fire. Head to _EW.com_ to read the [entire excerpt](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/03/25/12-things-you-never-knew-about-harry-potter "undefined"), where you’ll learn more about how publishers transported top-secret manuscripts and how editors kept track of every spell in the Wizarding World. ### Harry Potter Illustrated Edition Illustrations  Harry Potter Jim Kay—Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.  Hermione Granger Jim Kay—Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.  Ron Weasley Jim Kay—Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.  Draco Malfoy Jim Kay—Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.  Rubeus Hagrid Jim Kay—Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.  Hogwarts Grand Hall Jim Kay—Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.  Dragon Alley Jim Kay—Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.  Hagrid Jim Kay—Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.  Harry Potter Jim Kay—Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.  An owl Jim Kay—Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.  The Golden Snitch Jim Kay—Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3759989/harry-potter-jk-rowling-biography/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3759989/harry-potter-jk-rowling-biography/"},"headline":"How the Harry Potter Books Might Have Had Different Titles","datePublished":"2015-03-26T16:25:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:04:51.262Z","description":"Harry Potter and the School of Magic, anyone?","url":"https://time.com/3759989/harry-potter-jk-rowling-biography/","keywords":["Books","Harry Potter","JK Rowling"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc17aa9eeeaaea135/69868adacd684814d709429f/220927_full.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"ashley Ross","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ashley-ross/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc17aa9eeeaaea135/69868adacd684814d709429f/220927_full.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Harry Potter","caption":"Harry Potter","creditText":"Warner Bros.","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3759989/harry-potter-jk-rowling-biography/","name":"How the Harry Potter Books Might Have Had Different Titles"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"After the Deathly Hallows: Harry Potter Characters 16 Years Later","description":"Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, and Neville are at the 2014 Quidditch World Cup. 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