Ollivander family

Ollivander is the surname of an old wizarding family, and one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. The family is known to have been in the wand-making business since 382 B.C.. It is said that the name means ‘he who owns the olive wand’, which suggests that the original Ollivander arrived in Britain from a Mediterranean country (olive trees not being native to the UK).

Garrick Ollivander believes that his earliest ancestors in England arrived with the Romans, and set up stall (subsequently shop) to sell to ancient British wizards whose wands were crude of construction and unreliable in performance.

The earliest known member of the family, apart from the the original Ollivander who established the wand-making business, is Geraint Ollivander, active in the Middle Ages. The current owner of the famous wand shop is Garrick Ollivander. He is an established wandmaker in the British wizarding community and many wizarding families preferred buying Ollivander's wands over other makers, often remarking that his were the best. Harry Potter also bought his first wand from him in 1991. He is also responsible for making the "brother wand" of Harry's, purchased by Tom Riddle (later known as Lord Voldemort).

In 1996, Ollivander was captured and tortured by Lord Voldemort at Malfoy Manor. Later in 1998, he was rescued by Harry Potter and his friends, along with others who had also been captured. He later took refuge at Ron Weasley's great-aunt Muriel's home.

Known members

 * Ollivander — A Roman wizard, who established the family business.
 * Geraint Ollivander — A great medieval wandmaker.
 * Gerbold Octavius Ollivander — Father of Gervaise. A rival to Arturo Cephalopos, who predictably went out of business.
 * Gervaise Ollivander — Father of Garrick. According to his son, "wrestled" with substandard wand cores his costumers brought to him as it was practice at the time.
 * Mrs. Ollivander — A Muggle-born witch; wife of Gervaise and mother of Garrick.
 * Garrick Ollivander (b. 25 September in or prior 1919) — A half-blood wizard; widely regarded as the best wandmaker in the world in the 20th century. Revolutionised the crafting of wands by the 1930s.
 * Mr. Ollivander — Son of Garrick
 * Ms. Ollivander (d. before 1991) — Daughter of Garrick