Showing posts with label The Hobbit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Hobbit. Show all posts

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Tauriel

In Peter Jackson's Hobbit movies, he added a character that did not appear in the book. Tauriel was an elf, and the captain of Thranduil's guard. She fell in love with Kili, one of the dwarves in Thorin's party. After the dwarves escaped, she left the palace without permission to hunt down the orcs that pursued them. Legolas had feelings for Tauriel and followed her. She fought in the Battle of the Five Armies.

In the elvish language created by J.R.R. Tolkien, Tauriel means 'forest maiden.' In 2014, 20 girls were named Tauriel in the U.S.

Saturday, July 11, 2015

Galadriel

In J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, Galadriel was an elf and the Lady of Lothlórien. Her husband was Lord Celeborn. She was one of the most beautiful and most powerful elves of Middle Earth. Her daughter, Celebrían, was the wife of Elrond, and the mother of Arwen. Galadriel assisted the Fellowship of the Ring after they escaped from the mines of Moria. Frodo offered the One Ring to her, but she refused it, knowing that it would corrupt her.

The name Galadriel was invented by J.R.R. Tolkien. In the books, the name was given to her by her husband, and meant "maiden crowned with a garland of bright radiance." The name has seen some occasional use, but has always hovered at the bottom of the SSA's name database. The last time it appeared was in 2006, when it was given to only 5 girls.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Bilbo

Bilbo Baggins was the main character of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. He was a minor character in The Lord of the Rings. Bilbo was hired by Gandalf and Thorin to help Thorin and his band of Dwarves to reclaim the dwarves' treasure from the dragon Smaug. Along the way, he discovered the One Ring, which he thought was just an invisibility ring. In the Lord of the Rings, Bilbo left the Shire for Rivendell. Before he left, Gandalf discovered the true nature of the ring and persuaded him to leave it with Frodo. Bilbo lived out the rest of his life in Rivendell, where he wrote his memoir, which became The Hobbit

There is also an asteroid named 2991 Bilbo.

I like that you could use the nickname 'Bill', or 'Bo', and ends in 'O' names are very popular right now. Despite these attributes, Bilbo does not appear as a name in the Social Security Administration's name database. Unfortunately the name is too closely associated with the character to be usable as a first name for a child. It could be used as a quirky middle name, or as a name for a beloved pet.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Thorin

Thorin Oakenshield is a character in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. Thorin is a dwarf leader descended from Kings. I've never read the book, so I won't attempt to summarize the character myself. You can read all about him here. Thorin Oakenshield was also known as Thorin II. There is also a Thorin I and a Thorin III.

Thorin is probably the most usable name from the book. It sounds similar to Thorn, and Thor could be a possible nickname. The name was given to 27 boys in the United States in 2011.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

The Dwarves of the Hobbit

The Hobbit features a band of dwarves led by Thorin. They were Nori, Ori, Dori, Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Bombur, Bofur, Bifur, Balin and Dwalin. I gave Thorin his own post which you can view here.

Nori, Ori and Dori were brothers, and were from a group of dwarves called Durin's Folk. All three brothers played the flute, and were remote kinsmen of Thorin.

Ori can also be found in the Stargate franchise as the name of god-like aliens that have ascended to another plane of existence.

Fili and Kili were also brothers, and were the youngest of the dwarves. Thorin was their uncle. They were often used as scouts.

Oin and Gloin were brothers and were cousins of Balin and Dwalin. Gloin was the father of Gimli, the dwarf that belonged to the Fellowship of the Ring in the Lord of the Rings.

Bombur and Bofur were brothers, and Bifur was their cousin. Bombur was known for being fat and late for everything. Bofur and Bifur both played the clarinet.

Balin and Dwalin were brothers. They both played the fiddle.

Although they seem less useable than other Tolkien names, some of the dwarves names have seen some limited use in 2011. The name Balin was given to 40 boys in 2011. Kili was given to 6 girls, this usage is probably not related to The Hobbit. It's probably more likely a variation of Kiley. Nori was given to 18 girls. I also doubt this is related to the Hobbit. Nori is also a boy's name in Japanese that means 'rule, or ceremony'. Ori was given to 53 boys, but it is also a Hebrew name that means 'my light'. Dori was given to 13 girls, most likely as a variation of Dora. Although Dori is a also a male Hebrew name meaning 'my generation'.