What title was used for the US edition of J.K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter novel?

The US edition of J.K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter novel was titled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

In the United Kingdom and many other countries, the book is known as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Scholastic changed “Philosopher” to “Sorcerer” for the American market because editors believed younger readers might find the original term unfamiliar or less commercially appealing.

The change affected more than the cover. The American edition also made various small wording adjustments, including some vocabulary choices, to suit US readers. The plot and characters remained the same.

This title difference is one of the most common sources of confusion in lists of the Harry Potter books. It does not indicate a separate story or a different installment; both titles refer to the first novel, first published in Britain in 1997.