What is J.K. Rowling’s full first and last name at birth?

J.K. Rowling’s name at birth was Joanne Rowling.

She was born on 31 July 1965 at Yate General Hospital near Bristol, England, and was named Joanne Rowling. The initial “K” in her pen name does not represent a middle name she was given at birth. Rowling later chose Kathleen, her paternal grandmother’s name, as the middle initial for her publishing name.

Her publisher suggested using initials because some market research indicated that young boys might be less likely to read a book written by a woman. Rowling therefore became “J.K. Rowling” for the Harry Potter series, although she has said that she had no middle name to supply originally.

A common mix-up is calling her Joanne Kathleen Rowling as though that were her birth name. Kathleen was adopted for her professional name. Rowling also used the pen name Robert Galbraith for her crime-fiction series beginning with The Cuckoo’s Calling in 2013.