THAT’S NOT MY REAL Olivia Serio

NAME
 HOBBITS Translation
AND THE SHIRE from Westron
HOBBIT
Westron English
Kuduk Hobbit
 Westron word  Old English derivation
 “hole-dweller”  “holbylta” (hole-builder)
 Hol (hole) + Bylta (builder)

Additional Information
 The Westron kuduk is from the Rohirric kûd-dûka
 Tolkien commented on the pronunciation "I am sure many
hobbits drop their h’s like most rural folk in England“ Kuduk  Hobbit
 Also called:
 Halflings - Dúnedain
 A translation of Westron banakil
 Perian (s)/Periandi (pl) – Quenya
 Perian (s)/Periannath (pl) – Sindarin
SHIRE
Westron English
Sûza Shire
 Westron word  “Englished” form of
sûza

Additional Information
 Most place names are translations of older names
 Englished forms indicate a familiar language
 Translated places of note: Sûza  Shire
 Orodruin (burning mountain) – Mount Doom
 Taur e-Ndaedelos (forest of the great fear) - Mirkwood
 Baranduin – Brandywine
 Westron and
CHARACTER NAMES English forms
FRODO BAGGINS
Westron English
Maura Frodo
 maur- (wise)  frod- (wise)
 -a (masculine ending)  Germanic

 Proto-Germanic name

Additional Information
 Technically Maura is from archaic Rohirric, not Westron
 In some old families (e.g. Tooks and Bolgers) it was
common to give high-sounding first names Maura  Frodo
 Tolkien represents this using old names of Frankish or
Gothic origin
 Names of classical origin are rarely used as the nearest
equivalents of Latin/Greek would be Elvish tongues which
are rarely used by hobbits.
SAMWISE GAMGEE
Westron English
Banazîr Sam + Wise
 half-wise; simple  Proto-Germanic prefix
 shortened to “Ban” meaning “half”

Additional Information
 Short names such as Tom, Tim, and Mat are abbreviations
of Tomba, Tolma, and Matta
 Sam and his father Ham were really called Ban and Ran Banazîr  Samwise
which are abbreviations of Banazîr and Ranugad
 Samwise and Hamfast are modernizations of ancient
English samwís an hámfoest which correspond closely in
meaning and have no biblical origin as some believe
PEREGRIN TOOK
Westron English
Razanur Peregrin
 “far traveler; wanderer”  “wanderer”
 originally meant
Razar “pilgrim”
 “small red apple”
Pippin
 “small red apple”

Razanur  Peregrin
Additional Information Razar  Pippin
 Took is an Anglicized version of Tûk
 Tûka is held to mean “daring” but more in tradition than
root
MERIADOC BRANDYBUCK
Westron English
Kalimac Meriadoc
 Unknown meaning  “sea brow”
 Brittonic/Welsh
Kali
 "merry, jolly, gay" Merry
 “cheerful and lively”

Additional Information Kalimac  Meriadoc

 Though Kalimac is a name of forgotten meaning, it is
inevitably associated with Kali; hence the rendering of Kali  Merry
Kalimac to Meriadoc and Kali to Merry
 The origination of Brandybuck has its own entire notation
in Appendix F
 Fun facts &
FINAL NOTES Additional Info
FINAL COMMENTS
 The names of Elves, Dwarves, Dunedain, and Men from Gondor are not
English translations, since they come from root words other than Westron
 Because the version of Westron spoken by the Hobbits is similar to that
of Rohan, those names are Anglicized and not left as is
 Tolkien wanted to maintain the foreign nature as it would pertain to a hobbit’s experience
 Rohirrim & Rohan are technically Sindarin words
 Westron is an Anglicized form of Adûni
 Sôval Phârë (Common Speech) - Westron
 Annúnaid (Westron) or Falathren (Shore-language) – Sindarin
 The term “elves” refers to both the Quendi and the Eldar as most
speakers had limited enough experience as not to need a differentiator
 Virtually every character, including the orcs and goblins, speak a
form of Westron, also referred to as “Common Speech” though
the dialects would differ
 There is a clear influence of Elvish in Westron, similar to the way
certain French words have influenced English despite not being
the primary root