How Tolkien Got his names!

Anglacon · 10-03-2002, 12:25 AM

The etymological sources Tolkien found had a great affect on his names in the Lord of the Rings and other books.
For example:
FRODO. In Hebrew, the name is related to Fradi or something like that and means: to be alone.
GANDALF: Suprisingly, if one was to look in the Poetic Edda at the beginning, one would see a list of dwarvish names (from whence Tolkien got most of the names from for the dwarves in the hobbit). And in that there is a name- Gandalf- a dwarf!
RIVENDELL: This is my theory anyway- Tolkien added the word riven + dell. Riven meaning spilt and dell meaning a ravine or valley.

10-03-2002, 12:25 AM	#1
Anglacon Sapling Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 2	How Tolkien Got his names! The etymological sources Tolkien found had a great affect on his names in the Lord of the Rings and other books. For example: FRODO. In Hebrew, the name is related to Fradi or something like that and means: to be alone. GANDALF: Suprisingly, if one was to look in the Poetic Edda at the beginning, one would see a list of dwarvish names (from whence Tolkien got most of the names from for the dwarves in the hobbit). And in that there is a name- Gandalf- a dwarf! RIVENDELL: This is my theory anyway- Tolkien added the word riven + dell. Riven meaning spilt and dell meaning a ravine or valley.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
LOTR Discussion: Appendices E and F	Forkbeard	LOTR Discussion Project	11	09-15-2008 06:16 PM
March 25th (Today) : Tolkien Reading Day	Finrod Felagund	General Messages	6	03-30-2004 11:41 AM
Translations of names	Artanis	Lord of the Rings Books	13	08-28-2002 09:20 AM
Could Tolkien himself please some?	bropous	Lord of the Rings Movies	14	01-02-2002 11:57 AM
Smaug pronunciations	Darth Tater	The Hobbit (book)	21	04-17-2000 10:52 AM