And the American Name for “Muggle” is…

According to an exclusive report from Entertainment Weekly, J.K. Rowling has created an American alternative to the word “Muggle” for the upcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them films.

“No-Maj” (pronounced “no madge”) is the American version of the word used to describe non-magic folk. The film series will commence in 1926 New York, and while the name sounds reminiscent of 1920s colloquialisms, it might also be the name that modern-day American witches and wizards would use.

As we know, J.K. Rowling herself has written the screenplay for Fantastic Beasts, but EW also reports that she has created several new words/names for the American wizarding world, which are yet to be revealed.

Pottermore tweeted about the unveiling of “No-Maj,” and Twitter users shared their thoughts:

It is quite a change from “Muggle,” a term that fans are fond of. After all, the word is even part of the English lexicon: It was incorporated into the Oxford English Dictionary in 2003, and is used to indicate “a person who is not conversant with a particular activity or skill.”

There are some fans who approve, saying that the new word fits the vernacular of the time period, the Roaring Twenties in America. If the word sounds like an insult or a slur, maybe that would have been its intention in the 1920s. Even if the word would still be used today, language and the meaning of words do change over time. J.K. Rowling created the word, so we have to assume that some thought was behind it.

What are your thoughts about “No-Maj”? Let us know in the comments!