I named my elf : Aerahdlas
From my references: Ael (knight) + rahd (leaf) + las (wild). I merged the L from Ael and the R from rahd due to the similar sound. I hope my references is right, but I don't know for sure. One thing I know for sure is that I really like the sound of it. Please tell me if anything's wrong, I'll gladly hear your advice and critiques.
P.S: sorry about my broken english; I am not a native, and grammar is definitely not my strong point
How would one do a name like Appleblossom or Applebloom in elven?
It was the King Color, of which all the other colors are merely partial and wishy-washy reflections. It was octarine, the color of magic. ...
But Rincewind always thought it looked sort of a greenish purple.
I named my elf : Aerahdlas
From my references: Ael (knight) + rahd (leaf) + las (wild). I merged the L from Ael and the R from rahd due to the similar sound. I hope my references is right, but I don't know for sure. One thing I know for sure is that I really like the sound of it. Please tell me if anything's wrong, I'll gladly hear your advice and critiques.
P.S: sorry about my broken english; I am not a native, and grammar is definitely not my strong point
The source you used isn't Tolkien elvish; it's from Warhammer 40K. A lot of that language was lifted from Tolkien, but its not true to the source material at all.
In Tolkien's Sindarin:
Aer = Holy
Las = Leaf
And the closest thing to Rahd would be Raud ... metal.
Aeraudlas ... Holy Metal Leaf ... close enough?
Originally Posted by Macroscian
I always kept things simple. Twig of Lorien. Bird of Lorien.
I wonder if these standard choices of mine really go well with Lore...
Teweg is elvish. But if you used Twig, I'd say it's a translation, which is very keeping with the lore.
This thread is awesome, and now I'm curious. My warden isn't an elf, but I read on the character creation that people from Gondor used Sindarin names. I just picked out a few prefixes/suffixes that sounded nice and mashed them together, and came up with Ilfariel- does it mean anything? Or did I just manage to mangle the language?
Also my elven rune-keeper is named Aranduthelion, could I get a translation of that?
My hunter's name is simply one that I thought up for a WoW character (who didn't last very long >.>). Does Solanthe mean anything?
Teweg is elvish. But if you used Twig, I'd say it's a translation, which is very keeping with the lore.
Tolkien didn't translate Elvish names as a rule (as in, almost never), so how can you say that'd be in keeping? Please don't make things up. Even in that one line where it was 'Legolas Greenleaf', it was still 'Legolas', not just 'Greenleaf' by itself and besides, that was Galadriel being poetical.
Tolkien didn't translate Elvish names as a rule (as in, almost never), so how can you say that'd be in keeping? Please don't make things up. Even in that one line where it was 'Legolas Greenleaf', it was still 'Legolas', not just 'Greenleaf' by itself and besides, that was Galadriel being poetical.
Tolkien routinely translated Elvish names. Please don't make things up. How about all of the names for places that have a name in Elvish and a translated name? I'm simply telling someone that using a translation is in keeping with the lore, if only because the transated word is an example of what an elf may be called.
Trying to decide on an Elvish name for my rune-keeper. I have one named Cyrsi but I'm not sure that translate to anything. Been having a really tough time finding reliable information about elvish naming. It seems I'm getting a lot of D&D stuff rather than Tolkien-related.
The other name I was considering is Elidyn. Just trying to come up with something pretty, feminine and isn't taken. So far, that's been rather difficult.
I'd appreciate some help if you have a few moments! Thanks.
P.S. I know diddly about Elves. I usually stick to Hobbits, but... I'm trying to branch out. :P
This thread is awesome, and now I'm curious. My warden isn't an elf, but I read on the character creation that people from Gondor used Sindarin names. I just picked out a few prefixes/suffixes that sounded nice and mashed them together, and came up with Ilfariel- does it mean anything? Or did I just manage to mangle the language?
Also my elven rune-keeper is named Aranduthelion, could I get a translation of that?
My hunter's name is simply one that I thought up for a WoW character (who didn't last very long >.>). Does Solanthe mean anything?
Thanks in advance!
I can help answer this. Sources: Hisweloke and Ardalambion.
Il- does not seem to have anything in Sindarin, but it seems to be present in Quenya. According to Tolkien, Boromir's name was a "mixed" name of Sindarin and Quenya, so this is not unknown in lore. Il- can mean either no/"un-" as used in English, or all/every.
'far' could either be Sindarin for 'sufficient, enough', or even from 'fara-', 'to hunt'.
'iel' is a common feminine suffix.
So... heheh... your name could possibly mean insufficient :P
Aranduthelion: Aran means king. Du means night/late evening/nightfall. Thelion means "one who is firm to his purpose", though Hisweloke lists an asterisk by it, not sure what that means, there is no legend.... Still sounds neat XD
Let's see if I can find anything that could be words in 'solanthe'... uh, there's a Quenya word for 'sol' that is one variant of 'helmet'... I didn't find anything for 'anthe', closest seems to be related to the verb anta-, to give, being ante (with the two little dots over the e, heh), 'giver'.
Elendilmir (the raid toons): LAERWEN, 80 htr ♦ OLORIEL, 75 min ♦ AETHELIND, 75 capt ♦ ROSALLA, 75 burg Landroval (the RP toons): LAERLIN (Bio + Drawing) ♦ AETHELIND (Bio + Drawing) ♦ NETHAEL
Trying to decide on an Elvish name for my rune-keeper. I have one named Cyrsi but I'm not sure that translate to anything. Been having a really tough time finding reliable information about elvish naming. It seems I'm getting a lot of D&D stuff rather than Tolkien-related.
The other name I was considering is Elidyn. Just trying to come up with something pretty, feminine and isn't taken. So far, that's been rather difficult.
I'd appreciate some help if you have a few moments! Thanks.
P.S. I know diddly about Elves. I usually stick to Hobbits, but... I'm trying to branch out. :P
Thanks Laire, I had actually been using that first site. Was having a hard time coming up with combinations that I liked however. Got a few that I might use.
Originally Posted by Schirf
A quick Hiswelókë reference:
cîr S. [kˈiːr] (cýr S.) adj. renewed ◇ VT/48:7-8
si S. [si] adv. now ◇ LotR/IV:X, LB/354
sí S. [sˈiː] adv. here ◇ LotR/II:I, RGEO/72
But cýr + si would become Cýrhi
I like Elo+tîn > Elodîn for its contradictions... Elo! = an exclaimation, Tîn = silence
Elo+tyrn > Elodyrn also sounds nice.
Hey Schirf,
A shame that it would become Cýrhi. But I guess thats the way the cookie crumbles.
That being said, I really like Elidyn, so if I wanted something that was "proper" Sindarin, I would go with Elodin instead? I've been having a bit of a time here wrapping my head around translations and mutations of the letters, lol.
Tolkien routinely translated Elvish names. Please don't make things up. How about all of the names for places that have a name in Elvish and a translated name? I'm simply telling someone that using a translation is in keeping with the lore, if only because the transated word is an example of what an elf may be called.
Not for characters, he didn't, and that's what we're talking about. Where there are other names for places, it's because other people had their own name for them, sometimes translated from the Elvish, sometimes from just adapting the sound of it (like 'Baranduin' ending up as 'Brandywine').
Using an English translation as a name is not okay for Elvish characters. Many of their names wouldn't translate neatly in any case, they're usually two or more concepts strung together. Like Galadriel, for example.
'Twig' is pretty bad in any case, sounds like a fairy rather than an Elf.
My Lore Master is named Elludhien but it was seriously just me clicking the "generate a name!" button. Later I realized it didn't translate properly at all. I'd like to maintain the "Elu" sound as I've been calling her Lulu, but anyone have any ideas for a name change for her?
My Lore Master is named Elludhien but it was seriously just me clicking the "generate a name!" button. Later I realized it didn't translate properly at all. I'd like to maintain the "Elu" sound as I've been calling her Lulu, but anyone have any ideas for a name change for her?
You're not far from one that is probably taken... Eludhuin.
Again, using the Hiswelókë's Sindarin dictionary:
†elu *S. [ˈɛlu] (elw N.) adj. (pale) blue
duin S. [dˈujn] n.Geog. (long and large) river (having strong current)
Elu + duin > becomes > Eludhuin
or, if you prefer...,
êl S. [ˈɛːl] pl. elin S. [ˈɛlin] n.Arch., Poet.Astron. star (little used except in verses)
glûdh N. [glˈuːð] n. soap
El + glûdh + iel > becomes > Ellûdhiel (female)
But really? Soap?
Elludhien may not have a perfect translation, but El + Lúthien > Ellúthien is so close to Elludhien that's I'd keep Elludhien and be happy with it.
Elludhien may not have a perfect translation, but El + Lúthien > Ellúthien is so close to Elludhien that's I'd keep Elludhien and be happy with it.
Oh I didn't think about that. Doesn't dh make a similar sound to th or am I pulling that out my butt? Either way, thanks. Her name has been bothering me for ages because of this.
To attend an event on another server (than the one I normally play on) I have created an Elf Hunter, unfortunately I was unable to use the name I came up with and eventually found one on the random name generator, that both I and the game agreed on.
But since this is only an alt for attending events on that server, her name does not really matter.
Now my question is: In the next couple of months I intend to create an Elf Hunter character on my own server, possible rp her and definitely add her to MYLOTRO Journal, so would like a Female Elven name for her, which means at least flame or fire and ideally "a fire burns within", due to her been hot headed and passionate. Any ideas?
There is a mistaken belief that there wasn't a Woman in the Fellowship. It is just that when she got to Rivendell. "You want to climb over the Misty Mountains - You want to go down through Moria - Are you all mad." So she moved in with the Elves instead.
Welcome back, Schirf! I've been following this thread for a while hoping you'd come back, but it seems I've been too busy with the Festival for the past week...
Any ideas about Galen + thafn + (pl)? From my original post here: http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.p...63#post5409363 ... Celinthaifn? Thafngelin? Celinthavn? Or any other related ideas? I'm stuck on "thafn", haven't seen ANY other words that end in "fn"...
Welcome back, Schirf! I've been following this thread for a while hoping you'd come back, but it seems I've been too busy with the Festival for the past week...
Any ideas about Galen + thafn + (pl)? From my original post here: http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.p...63#post5409363 ... Celinthaifn? Thafngelin? Celinthavn? Or any other related ideas? I'm stuck on "thafn", haven't seen ANY other words that end in "fn"...
I'm not the person you're looking for but maybe I can help a wee bit?
There are actually a few words that end in 'fn':
Cofn
Drafn
Rafn
Gondrafn (which became Gondram)
Personally I'd stick with the usual plural rules meaning a final a becomes an ai for 'thaifn'.
If you were to make a slight leap and suggest that the 'fn' ending was meant to become 'm' then you could have 'thaim' from 'tham', but this is already an existing word (meaning hall). Also, that would make 'Rafn' = 'Ram' (an already existing word), 'Cofn' = 'Com' (sounds a bit off) and 'Drafn' = 'Dram' (an already existing word), so although there are some words that have two meanings (sigil for example) I would think that the 'fn' makes much more sense if it stays in that form.
Thanks very much, Xandarien and Schirf! I saw somewhere that the evolution of "thafn" was from the root "stabne" so I guess they belong to the same group as the other examples. Calenthain sounds the best, so far, but one last niggle - do both parts have to be pluralised, or just the one? (Sorry, just remembering my French, where the conjugations of adjective and noun have to agree...)
Need help making an elven surname! Since apparently it doesn't work as simply as inputting two words and pressing "translate" and sticking 'em together.
Something nice-sounding with a meaning like "wind runner", "wind rider" or "wind treader" or something...you get the idea. XD
First things first – a respectful salute to Schirf for sharing a knowledge hoard with a free hand. This thread is remarkable, in many ways. My thanks to everybody who contributed to it.
Instead of daring to lay the names of my Elvish characters before such scrutinizing and knowledgeable eyes (what if I made a mistake?) I would rather ask some general questions that always surface in my mind when I think about the Elvish languages of Middle-Earth, Sindarin in particular.
My impression is that the Sindarin close to the end of the Third Age is treated and represented as a highly 'standardized' language. Taking into account real-world linguistic developments this would be rather surprising. There were and are several 'language isles' where a respected group would set a model for 'proper Sindarin speaking' – the courts of Númenor, of Caras Galadhon, of Gil-Galad in Lindon, Imladris, to name but a few. It already becomes apparent that some of the 'model speakers' like Galadriel and Gil-Galad probably grew up using Quenya primarily, not Sindarin (Galadriel's mother was Earwen of the Teleri, Gil-Galad as a Noldo would speak Quenya at home among a Sindarin speaking population), so they were not 'native speakers' in a pure sense. On the other hand, the members of the royal court of Númenor probably did grow up with Sindarin (and Quenya), but the literally insular situation would bring about a deviation from the language developments on the continent. It is easy to imagine pious scholars among the Faithful who never met an Elf in their lives using the most antiquated and 'high style' terms, phrases and modes of syntax they could possibly find whereas the people feeding and clothing them would use a 'kitchen Sindarin' for talking to their betters. This, then, would be the Sindarin Elendil and the Faithful brought back. From a linguistic point of view, the first conversations between them and Elvish Sindarin speakers must have been very interesting. This is, of course, just one example.
Furthermore, school as it developed from the 18th century onwards in real-world Europe is notably absent in Middle Earth. There is no institution whatsoever which could enforce a language norm, not even locally. 'Model speakers' would of course be emulated, but certainly not by all. On the contrary, dissenting and fringe groups would cling to their dialects as a means of collective identification. Scholars would disagree, form camps and fight about 'proper' Sindarin. Minstrels would innovate or archaize and meet applause or opposition. The fact that Silvan terms evidently made it into the 'proper Sindarin' in Galadriel's realm clearly shows an integrative tendency, whereas it is possible to imagine tendencies to the contrary elsewhere – a phenomenon every dialect speaker knows.
Moreover, even the ancient Sindarin was not standardized, as is well known. Would, for example, all Doriathrin speakers readily embrace a 'modern Sindarin' and teach it to their children? This is not very likely. What kind of Sindarin would Oropher and his people have brought to the Silvans, and what would they in turn have done to it? Most of the Silvans in the North (Mirkwood) would learn Sindarin as a second language, if at all, whereas their royal court would speak Sindarin. This court would, thus, be a tiny 'language isle' of its own.
I do not mean to imply that these different modes of Sindarin would be so far apart that serious communication problems would appear. Maybe the linguistic situation at the end of the Third Age is similar to ancient Greece where the dialect of Attica eventually prevailed when the language was dying and is in fact thought to be 'Ancient Greek' today. When it was actually spoken by philosophers and peasants alike (or rather not alike) it was just a dialect the other Greeks would instantly recognize.
What does that mean in respect to personal names? In any traditional society these would be very conservative, and it is unthinkable that anyone would bear a name without being aware of its meaning – very much in contrast to the modern age. But would the names not also reflect local or genealogical traditions? Would naming traditions not differ? Would 'spelling' not differ too, taking into account that fixation on the written language (in contrast to language as primarily spoken) is entirely modern? Would certain names rooted in certain traditions not appear odd to others?
My apologies to those who just dipped a toe into the ocean of linguistics because they care for a proper Elven name. I do not mean to overcomplicate things. Rather I would like to inspire 'name makers' and perhaps fuel their creativity. I may add that I racked my brains (and burrowed through a pile of sources) for many hours 'smithing' the 'right' names for my Elvish girls. I found that it became easier when I tried to reconstruct the thoughts and feelings of the name giver who, of course and in any case, is an Elf too, rooted in a certain tradition and life experence which, of course, would be the framework of these thoughts and emotions.
If we were Elves and not the mortals we are this would mean, among other things, that we could speak to Shakespeare, Chaucer, Milton and the poet of Beowulf – or at least to people who had known them. Would uniformity of language not be both an unlikely and sad result of this?
(edited in order to remove typos - probably still some left ...)
Last edited by Viduhundaz; Jul 12 2011 at 12:43 PM.
Need help making an elven surname! Since apparently it doesn't work as simply as inputting two words and pressing "translate" and sticking 'em together.
Something nice-sounding with a meaning like "wind runner", "wind rider" or "wind treader" or something...you get the idea. XD
Windrider:
sûl + rochben/rochon
-r assimilates to preceding -l giving
Sullochben/Sullochon (could also then turn the -ll into an -l)
or
gwaew + rochben/rochon
-w lost before consonant giving
Gwaerochben/Gwaerochon or
Gwairochben/Gwairochon
Xandarien Elanessa, Híril of Pupils of the Istari on Evernight
Looking to create an Elf RK. I always come up with a handful of names that I like, then when I try to create my character other people have already claimed them. I try to change the spelling of many of them. But it's hard and I don't like to use a name that doesn't mean anything.
Any suggestions for a Sindarin name I could use on my RK would be greatly appreciated.
Though my elf hunter is named Mithrohir and I didn't check what this means before I created him because I really liked the sound of it. >_<
Any chance you could translate it for me?
Oh I really like the name Feanor. I think the translation and the sound of the name are amazing. Not trying to be too specific but this is the type of name I like.
And I also decided I'm making a lore-master instead of a rune-keeper.
Looking to create an Elf RK. I always come up with a handful of names that I like, then when I try to create my character other people have already claimed them. I try to change the spelling of many of them. But it's hard and I don't like to use a name that doesn't mean anything.
Any suggestions for a Sindarin name I could use on my RK would be greatly appreciated.
Though my elf hunter is named Mithrohir and I didn't check what this means before I created him because I really liked the sound of it. >_<
Any chance you could translate it for me?
Mith = 'grey' usually but can mean 'fog, white mist'
Rohir = 'horse-lord, knight' (N.B the word is 'rochir' but it changes to 'rohir' in Elrohir's name, something's nagging me that it's to do with the Gondorian's tendency to pronounce a 'ch' as an 'h' but either way it works).
Last edited by Xandarien_PoTI; Aug 20 2011 at 05:36 PM.
Xandarien Elanessa, Híril of Pupils of the Istari on Evernight
I was wondering if you had any suggestions on my Elf Hunter's name: Menelglin. I'm very fond of the meaning, but I've never been entirely satisfied with the "lgl" combination in the middle. It's awkward. My understanding of Indo-European linguistics suggests that in many languages, either the initial "l" or the "g" would soften or even disappear, but I'm not familiar with sound change and mutation in Sindarin. I like the sound of both "Meneglin and Menellin", but "Menellin", however, would seem to be "heaven/sky-song" instead of "heaven/sky-gleam".
Would "Meneglin" be an appropriate spelling for "heaven/sky-gleam"?
Do you have any other suggestions for a similar construction or meaning?
I was wondering if you had any suggestions on my Elf Hunter's name: Menelglin. I'm very fond of the meaning, but I've never been entirely satisfied with the "lgl" combination in the middle. It's awkward. My understanding of Indo-European linguistics suggests that in many languages, either the initial "l" or the "g" would soften or even disappear, but I'm not familiar with sound change and mutation in Sindarin. I like the sound of both "Meneglin and Menellin", but "Menellin", however, would seem to be "heaven/sky-song" instead of "heaven/sky-gleam".
Would "Meneglin" be an appropriate spelling for "heaven/sky-gleam"?
Do you have any other suggestions for a similar construction or meaning?
You're quite right, the 'g' would disappear - g disappears in pretty much every Sindarin compound word including those with 'gl' like yours, which would give Menellin.
Just because it now looks like another word doesn't change the intended meaning - an Elf would know (well it wouldn't even be a conscious thought I would imagine) that the second part of your name was 'glin' - well it's not going to be 'lín' (possessive 'your'), I suppose it could be construed as 'lîn' (pool) but ultimately it's what you know it to mean.
Xandarien Elanessa, Híril of Pupils of the Istari on Evernight
While noun-adj order was suggested by Tolkien as the general rule, it's only followed in about 60% of his names. Why would this be so? The answer could be in the resolution of the problems that mutations cause. Word order may be less important where no potential ambiguity exists. Where mutation ambiguities occur it seems best to favor a noun-adj meaning over another interpretation.
But Lîn (pool) mutates to Thlîn on the combination since it comes from Lhîn. I think you can make a case for Menel + Lîn resulting in Menethlin over Menelthlin, but both are nice names. Menelthlin doesn't violate the 4 consonant rule, since the th is considered only 1.
Think you'd be able to suggest a few names? I am really terrible at coming up with them.
Someone on my server suggest Rantier for my lore-master, which translates to "Wanderer of Roads".
But I'm still interested in creating an elf warden, and an elf rune-keeper. I only play elves and men because I can't stand playing short people for some reason lol.
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