The Softer Side of the Tolkien Purist Community
CHOOSING NAMES
CLICHES: WHAT NOT TO DO
PROOFREADING
ON WRITING STYLES
(AND THE USE OF �ELVISH�)
ON �FLAMES� AND CRITICISM
ON PATHOS AND EMOTION
PLOTLINES AND PLOT DEVICES
BETA READERS LIST
CHALLENGES
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ENCYLOPEDIA OF ARDA
And in Tolkien�s world, it�s very easy to get it wrong. Quite frankly, just making up a fantasy type name isn�t going to cut it. So what resources are there out there to help you decide on a name?
One of the most often used sites is the www.barrowdowns.com name generator. Type in your name, or a friends name, and you get a whole list of names back. Easy, right? Wrong.
Barrowdowns creates Elvish names by mixing together random Elvish words, from Sindarin and Quenya, and then sticks some of the common name endings, such as �ion, or �iel, which mean �son of�, and �daughter of�, respectively, onto the end. Because they don�t worry about what any of the words mean, you can come out with a name that means something ridiculous � I once got �Thaurnariel�, which in Sindarin means �Abominable Rat Daughter�. More commonly, the name is composed of words which make no sense together.
The name generator does have its uses � it is particularly good for Orc names, passable for Dwarf and Hobbit names as well. But as an Elvish name generator, it is, quite frankly, rubbish.
So where can you go to get better suggestions for names? One good resource is the Quenya Lapseparma � the Quenya Babybook, which gives translations of names into the Quenya equivalents. However, if your character is Sindarin or Silvan, or a man or woman of Gondor, then they would be unlikely to bear a Quenya name. That brings us to the last option � creating your own names.
With a quick search of the web, you should be able to find yourself a Sindarin dictionary � either in PDF format, or as a program, called Dragonflame. Now you have the building blocks, a list of words from which you can make your name. Think about what you want the name to comment on � appearance, ancestry, personality? There are examples of all of these in the canon.
There are several common name endings. For women there are �wen, maiden, -ien, which I usually translate as �lady of�, -iel, daughter, -riel, �crowned with�, -rien, �queen�. �ril/-sil, �shine�, or �el/-edhel �elf�, are also used.
For male names common endings are �ndil, �lover� (platonic), -ion, son, -orn, tree, -las, leaf, and other nature themed endings, -dir, �man� (any adult male), -mir, jewel.
In terms of names for humans � in Gondor many people seem to carry Sindarin style names, and most of the nobles would probably speak Sindarin as well. The �th ending is common for women. Ioreth, Haleth and so on. For Rohirrim names you can get an old English dictionary here. It is interesting to see that �wyn, often used in female names, does not in fact mean maiden, like �wen, but �joy�.
A few last points.
Hobbits, and their neighbours, the Men of Bree, are the only creatures that have surnames. Common Hobbit surnames can easily be found in the appendices or on Encylopedia of Arda. Some Elves have what are called �epesse�. These are like nicknames or titles. Examples are Arwen Undomiel, who is sometimes just called �Undomiel�. Some elves went mostly by their epesse, such as Gil-Galad, whose actual name was Erienion, but who is known in history simply as �Gil-Galad�. Epesse were not passed onto children or shared around families � Elrond was known as Elrond Peredhil, but this epesse was not used by his sons, for example, nor was it taken by his wife.
(Thanks to Architeuthis for pointing out that I am, in fact, an idiot. Better now?)