Which name provided the “K” in J.K. Rowling’s pen name?

The “K” in J.K. Rowling’s pen name was taken from the name Kathleen.

Rowling was born Joanne Rowling and did not originally have a middle name. Her publisher asked her to use two initials because a name with initials was thought to appeal to young boys. Rowling chose “K” in honor of her paternal grandmother, Kathleen Ada Bulgen.

The initials therefore do not stand for Rowling’s own given middle name. This is a common misconception, especially because Rowling is widely known by the initials rather than Joanne. Her legal name later became Joanne Murray after her first marriage and Joanne Rowling after her second marriage ended, but the professional name J.K. Rowling remained.

The author’s name was designed for publishing and branding reasons before the first Harry Potter novel appeared. It is distinct from the Robert Galbraith pseudonym she later used for crime fiction.