Author Topic: Maggie's Name  (Read 932 times)

Offline Dina

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Re: Maggie's Name
« Reply #15 on: February 20, 2026, 11:14:28 PM »
I wouldn't call it pure speculation.
Jim has given us plenty of hints about True Naming, and plenty of facts about little Maggie's possible names.

I'd call it "educated guesswork," and made my best guess above.  I won't be utterly shocked to be proven wrong, though!

I don't see many facts, to be honest.
Missing you, Md 

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Offline Bad Alias

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Re: Maggie's Name
« Reply #16 on: February 20, 2026, 11:36:31 PM »
Facts:
Nickname - Maggie
First Name - Margaret
Middle Name - Angelica
Last Name - Dresden, Rodriguez, or Mendoza
True Names change in humans.

The problem is we have too many facts to draw firm conclusions. For her legal name, I assume her last name is Dresden. It's more probable than anything else. But we know her first and middle. That's 2/3rds.

Adding to my point about the Carpenters, I wouldn't be surprised if Michael knew Harry was coming back. I'm certain he is the type to have prayed about decisions as to Maggie's paperwork. (Whether to do it, what choices to make). And Michael often gets clear and direct answers.

If he knew, he would have chosen Dresden to help push Harry into accepting his responsibilities. Charity even more so.

Offline Dina

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Re: Maggie's Name
« Reply #17 on: Yesterday at 12:00:54 AM »
Ah yes, Margaret Angélica are indeed facts.
Also yes, if Michael knew, he would have done the papers for Margaret Dreden but that perhaps that would have alerted others that Dresden was alive. And if they do not know, it would be safer not to use a name that would attract people and creatures wanting to revenge.
Missing you, Md 

There are many horrible sights in the multiverse. Somehow, though, to a soul attuned to the subtle rhythms of a library, there are few worse sights than a hole where a book ought to be. Someone has stolen a book (Terry Pratchett)

Offline Mira

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Re: Maggie's Name
« Reply #18 on: Yesterday at 04:42:06 PM »
Ah yes, Margaret Angélica are indeed facts.
Also yes, if Michael knew, he would have done the papers for Margaret Dreden but that perhaps that would have alerted others that Dresden was alive. And if they do not know, it would be safer not to use a name that would attract people and creatures wanting to revenge.

 You got to wonder though, when we are talking "true names" does the last name even count?  Last names are changed so often, when my grandfather came here from Denmark years ago, he changed his last name because of what the people around him thought his last name was or meant in English.  When we marry we change our name, spellings change sometimes, people change their names..  Also when you are talking last names, it gets to be a mishmash because your parents didn't have the same last name at some point, or their parents, aunts and uncles etc..  So when we are speaking "true names" it is my opinion it's the given name only that counts, Margaret Angelica would be Maggie's true name, whatever her last name was or is now really isn't her "true name." 

Offline Dina

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Re: Maggie's Name
« Reply #19 on: Today at 04:49:20 AM »
I think in the books Harry mentions all his names as part of his True Name but I may be wrong.
Missing you, Md 

There are many horrible sights in the multiverse. Somehow, though, to a soul attuned to the subtle rhythms of a library, there are few worse sights than a hole where a book ought to be. Someone has stolen a book (Terry Pratchett)

Offline Xamion

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Re: Maggie's Name
« Reply #20 on: Today at 07:01:00 AM »
Yes, Harry introduces himself to readers in Storm Front like this:

"My name is Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Conjure by it at your own risk."

Offline Dina

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Re: Maggie's Name
« Reply #21 on: Today at 09:13:37 AM »
I was thinking more about when he summons the demon and introduces us to the concept of True Name. Also, I think when talking with Ferrovax later he says something like he used his Name, or so I believe.
Missing you, Md 

There are many horrible sights in the multiverse. Somehow, though, to a soul attuned to the subtle rhythms of a library, there are few worse sights than a hole where a book ought to be. Someone has stolen a book (Terry Pratchett)

Offline Mira

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Re: Maggie's Name
« Reply #22 on: Today at 02:09:04 PM »
Yes, Harry introduces himself to readers in Storm Front like this:

"My name is Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Conjure by it at your own risk."

 I know he does, still using the last name as a true name doesn't make sense to me.  What underlies this is the confusion about Maggie's last name, I imagine by now that Harry has formally adopted her.  Not sure he needs to adopt her since she is his natural daughter.  Since she is Harry's natural daughter you'd think that Dresden or Rodriguez as Susan's natural daughter, or both.  Yet maybe another concept that sounds really cool, but when the story takes yet another turn it gets confusing.

Online g33k

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Re: Maggie's Name
« Reply #23 on: Today at 05:27:52 PM »
Yes, Harry introduces himself to readers in Storm Front like this:

"My name is Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Conjure by it at your own risk."

There's also the element where Chauncy is bargaining for parts of Harry's True Name.
Harry's internal/POV narrative is that his Name has 4 parts.

But there's also an issue of pronounciation.
You don't have *all* of the Name until you have the pronunciation correct.

All these elements have, on occasion, been reiterated since SF; so we can be confident that wasn't Early Episode Weirdness... a few powerful beings have shown that they do in fact have Harrys full True Name, with correct pronunciation, and it has shaken him.

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Re: Maggie's Name
« Reply #24 on: Today at 07:21:39 PM »
Facts:
...
True Names change in humans. 
Do we know how often, or easily, the True Names change in humans, though?  I  don't recall this coming up in the canon stories; is there some nice clear WoJ?

Jim has been clear that two people cannot re-Soulgaze... WoJ provides an exceptional case: if one of them has undergone a wrenching, soul-redefining change (something exceedingly rare... Harry, for example, withstood a Fallen Shadow, and even converted her, has became the Winter Knight, with the mark of Winter deep inside his spirit; he has died (mostly (y'all know what I mean)). And yet none of these, singly or collectively, has changed him enough:  everyone he has previously Soulgazed is still safe to look into his eyes).  I suspect a re-Naming might take a similar level of change.

... I wouldn't be surprised if Michael knew Harry was coming back. I'm certain he is the type to have prayed about decisions as to Maggie's paperwork. (Whether to do it, what choices to make). And Michael often gets clear and direct answers.

If he knew, he would have chosen Dresden to help push Harry into accepting his responsibilities. Charity even more so. 
Although, it's worth noting that the sorts of  Answers  that Michael gets back are not always the most-obvious/expected ones.  Maybe the whole Rodriguez/Mendoza/Dresden muddle would actually benefit Maggie to be further muddled (in protective, hard-to-track-down ways) by giving her the Carpenter name.  They wouldn't hesitate to extend their protection that way.

Offline Dina

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Re: Maggie's Name
« Reply #25 on: Today at 08:26:11 PM »
I think Harry explains somewhere that as you cannot use old blood for humans, because humans change, something similar but slower happens with the Name. Perhaps even if someone has no change his legal name, they can change the way they say it, so changing the Name.
Missing you, Md 

There are many horrible sights in the multiverse. Somehow, though, to a soul attuned to the subtle rhythms of a library, there are few worse sights than a hole where a book ought to be. Someone has stolen a book (Terry Pratchett)

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Re: Maggie's Name
« Reply #26 on: Today at 09:40:47 PM »
I think Harry explains somewhere that as you cannot use old blood for humans, because humans change, something similar but slower happens with the Name. Perhaps even if someone has no change his legal name, they can change the way they say it, so changing the Name.
No; blood "wears out" as a link when it dries, or is burnt, or etc; relatively quickly.
I theorize that it's when the last blood-cells in the sample are dead, but I'm not certain.

I don't know how long carefully cryo-suspended (then carefully returned to body-temp) blood might last.

It was hair -- Molly's baby-hair -- that was unusable because she had "changed too much," becoming her own person instead of the almost-blank-slate that is a human infant.