What initials appear in the name J.K. Rowling?

The initials in J.K. Rowling’s pen name are J.K.

Rowling was born Joanne Rowling, so the “J” represents Joanne. She did not originally have a middle name. When Bloomsbury prepared to publish Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the publisher wanted a name that might appeal broadly to boys and girls and asked her to use two initials.

The “K” was taken from Kathleen, the name of Rowling’s paternal grandmother. Rowling therefore became known professionally as J.K. Rowling, even though Kathleen is not part of her original birth name.

This naming history is often simplified into the claim that J.K. is Rowling’s full legal name, which is not accurate. She has also published adult fiction under the name Robert Galbraith, making the distinction between legal identity and author names especially relevant.