'Lord of the Dúnedain' is a somewhat ambiguous title, and there are various different ways that it might be plausibly intended. Our only specific records of its use come from III 2951, a time when Aragorn was a Chieftain of the Northern Dúnedain, but long before he claimed any greater authority, and on that basis we treat 'Lord of the Dúnedain' as effectively equivalent to 'Chieftain of the Dúnedain' here.
As Heir of Isildur, Aragorn could make a claim to the lordship of all the Dúnedain in Middle-earth. In principle, then, the title may have been used to encompass a greater lordship, dating back to the coming of Elendil and his sons to Middle-earth in the Second Age. Indeed, Aragorn is expressly considering his own ancestry when he uses the title, so this alternative interpretation is a realistic possibility. Aragorn would in fact go on to become the actual Lord of all the Dúnedain in Middle-earth, but this still lay far in the future (some sixty-eight years, to be precise) from his use of the title in Rivendell.
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