J.K. Rowling’s initials stand for Joanne Kathleen. The author, best known for the Harry Potter series, was born Joanne Rowling. She adopted the pen name J.K. Rowling at her publisher’s request, who believed that a gender-neutral name would appeal to a broader audience, particularly young boys.
The ‘K’ in her pen name does not stand for anything in her real name. It was added as a tribute to her paternal grandmother, Kathleen. This decision was made to create a more memorable and marketable author name.