The middle initial added to Joanne Rowling’s published name was K. Rowling was born Joanne Rowling and did not originally have a middle name beginning with K. Her publisher asked her to use two initials for the Harry Potter books, believing that a gender-neutral author name might appeal to young readers.
Rowling chose K in honor of her paternal grandmother, Kathleen. The resulting name, J.K. Rowling, became one of the most recognizable author names in modern publishing. It is commonly pronounced “Jo Kay Rowling,” although the initial does not represent a middle name that Rowling was given at birth.
This publishing choice is sometimes confused with a legal name change or with an abbreviation of “Kathleen.” The K was a professional addition to her author identity. Rowling has also published under Robert Galbraith for her crime novels, demonstrating how her public author names have varied by genre and publishing strategy.