Dumbledore e McGonagall abordam isso no primeiro capítulo:
"It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name.
"I know you haven 't, said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, Voldemort, was frightened of."
E Hagrid explicou isso para Harry um pouco mais tarde:
"Well -- I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does."
"Why not?"
"Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went... bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse.
Eles estão com medo. É muito estúpido, mas as pessoas são estranhas. Além disso, parece não haver razão para não dizer o nome.
And it turns out that there did end up being a reason not to say it with the taboo in book 7.