Lexicon of Names

i (Elvish root) 'of', seen in a wide variety of compound names such as Echad i Sedryn ('Camp of the Faithful'), Ernil i Pheriannath ('Prince of the Halflings'), Gwaith-i-Mírdan ('People of the Jewel-smiths'), Indis i·Kiryamo (translated 'the Mariner's Wife', but literally 'Wife of the Mariner'), Men-i-Naugrim ('Road of the Dwarves') or Narn i Chîn Húrin, ('Tale of the Children of Húrin'). An exception is Dor Firn-i-Guinar, where the 'i' translates as 'that' rather than 'of'.

-i (Quenya) a plural suffix, the equivalent of adding 's' to a noun in English. Prominent in Quendi and Atani, 'Elves' and 'Men' (more literally, 'speakers' and 'Second People'), and their derivatives such as Calaquendi ('Elves of the Light') or Rúatani (a name for the Drúedain). Also seen in numerous other names of peoples or groups, for example Istari ('Wizards'), Avari ('the Uwilling' or literally 'the refusers'), Elendili ('Elf-friends'), palantíri (literally 'far-seers', the Seeing-stones) and many other examples besides.

iâ (Sindarin) 'void', 'abyss', especially in the sense of a gulf or chasm, and derived ultimately from the stem yag-, meaning 'yawn' or 'gape'. Seen only in Moria, the later Elvish name for Khazad-dûm, which translates as 'Black Chasm' or 'Black Pit'.

iam (English) an element in the name William used of the Troll William (or 'Bill') Huggins. This is worn-down element of Germanic helm (meaning literally 'helm' or more generally 'protector'), which appeared in the original form of the name, which was Wilhelm (meaning 'helmet of resolve' or 'determined protector'). The name entered English via Norman French, and in doing so the helm element evolved into iam. The original Germanic helm was also preserved in Old English, and appears as the name of King Helm Hammerhand of Rohan.

iath 1 (Sindarin) 'fence', seen most prominently in Doriath, from dor iâth, 'land of the fence', in reference to its protective Girdle of Melian. This element also appears in Echoriath, 'encircling fence', the Encircling Mountains that protected Gondolin. Note that -ath can also be used as a plural suffix, so some names that appear to contain this element (such as Osgiliath or Minhiriath) actually have quite different derivations.

iath 2 (Sindarin) a derivative of -ath, an ending used to form collective plurals (as, for example, in Periannath, the 'Halflings' as a people). As part of a name, this variant with preceding i is only definitely recorded in one word, giliath, 'the host of stars', which appears in both Dagor-nuin-Giliath ('Battle-under-Stars') and Osgiliath ('Citadel of the Stars'). Tangentially related is the same ending in Minhiriath (the land 'between the rivers'), though in this case the suffix -iath seems to derive from a source meaning 'two', rather than a collective plural (that is, the land was between two specific rivers, not all rivers). The use of iath as a plural is not be confused with its unrelated meaning of 'fence' (as for example in Doriath).

id (Sindarin) in the name Idril was adapted from Quenya Itarillë meaning 'sparkling radiance' (the stem -ril usually meant 'glittering', and so id- in this context would appear to mean 'radiance', though there is some overlap in meaning between the terms). It should be noted that Tolkien reconsidered the origins of the name Idril several times, and various alternative derivations are presented. In earlier texts the name is interpreted as 'beloved' or 'sweet heart' (said to be a valid meaning for the name, but not intended in this particular case), and 'mortal maiden' (because the Elf Idril wed the mortal Man Tuor).

il (Elvish root) 'all', 'everything', giving rise to the noun form ilúvë, 'everything that exists, the universe'. This element appears in Ilúvatar, literally meaning 'father of everything' or 'all-father'. Il- possibly also appears in the name of Illuin, the name of one of the Lamps of the Valar, for which one possible interpretation would be 'all-blue'. The element il- for 'all' is not present in names such as Ilmen or Ilmarin, which derive instead from ilma ('starlight').

im (Sindarin) 'between', seen in Taur-im-Duinath, 'Forest between the Rivers', for the great wood that stretched between the rivers Sirion and Gelion. It is not seen independently elsewhere, though the Quenya version of the same word appears in Galadriel's lament in Lórien: i falmalinnar imbë met, 'the foaming waves between us'. It possibly also appears in the etymology of the word imlad for a deep dell or glen with a flat floor (a lad being a region of flat land, with im implying that it lay between valley walls).

in 1 (Sindarin) a conjunction seen in various compound names, signifying a genitive relationship (or, in short, equivalent to 'of'). Examples include Annon-in-Gelydh ('Gate of the Noldor'), Nîn-in-Eilph ('Water(lands) of the Swans'), Ost-in-Edhil ('city of the Elves') and Tol-in-Gaurhoth ('Isle of Werewolves'). Another example is Tawar-in-Drúedain, usually translated as the 'Drúadan Forest', but literally the 'forest of the Wild Men'.

in 2 (Elvish root) a word variously defined as 'inner mind' or 'heart', reflecting a person's inner desires. It is attested in the names of Húrin ('vigorous heart') and his son Túrin ('he who desires mastery'). The name of the Elf-maid Idril is given various different derivations, but one of them connects its meaning to this word (via the original stem id-) as meaning 'sweet heart' or 'beloved'.

indis (Quenya) an intensified form of n(d)is, 'woman', a word usually (but not exclusively) taken to mean 'wife' or 'bride'. This common interpretation applies especially in reference to Erendis, whose name apparently means 'lonely bride', and whose tale is subtitled Indis i·Kiryamo, 'The Mariner's Wife'. The word indis did not always mean 'wife', however, and we have one definite case where a different meaning is intended. The second wife of Finwë was named simply Indis, but in her case the name is interpreted not as 'wife', but as 'great woman'.

ing (Elvish root) 'first', 'foremost', seen most prominently in Ingwë ('first one') the High King of the Elves. In the sense of 'foremost' or 'eminent', it appears in the name Ingold, which is interpreted as 'eminent among his kindred', at least as used by Men during the Third Age (though historically it had meant 'foremost of the Noldor').

ion 1 (Sindarin) a variant of iaun, meaning 'great', 'large' or 'wide', appearing most prominently in Sirion ('great river'), the most important of the rivers of Beleriand, and in the related Siriondil ('devoted to the great river'). The same ending can be used of wide lands or regions, and is likely also seen in Rhovanion ('Wilderland'). In the sense of 'physically great', it is seen in Tirion ('great watchtower'). Note that the ending -ion has a very wide range of possible meanings in Elvish (as well as this sense of 'great', it can also be a genitive plural, a masculine suffix, a patronymic, or an adjectival ending). The names listed here appear to be those most reliably using -ion in the sense of 'great', but interpreting between all the potential meanings of this name element can lead to uncertainties.

ion 2 (Elvish root) from a stem yon- meaning 'son', the ending -ion is used as patronymic or genitive ending, approximately equivalent to '-son' at the end of an English name, though also used in broader senses of descent or association. In its simplest form, this ending simply denoted the father's name, so Aranwion means 'son of Aranwë', and Inglorion means 'son of Inglor'. The same ending is commonly used in a more figurative sense to refer to ancestors or a line of descent, as for example in Ereinion ('scion of kings') or Eldarion ('descendant of the Eldar'). In an even more figurative sense, the same element can sometimes be used to describe a more general association, so for example the name of Lómion (translated 'Child of the Twilight', but literally 'son of twilight') referred to his birth in the shadowed woods of Nan Elmoth. In this more figurative sense, the -ion ending becomes more difficult to disentangle from other uses of -ion in Elvish, and so interpretation becomes less reliable. The names Anárion and Aldarion are generally thought to contain 'son' (translating as 'Sun-son' and 'son of trees' respectively) but this is not certain. There are various other names that are even more problematic, but may use -ion in this sense. Among the many examples in this class are names like Cirion, Galion or Herion, which are interpretable as 'ship son', 'green son' and 'lord's son', but alternative derivations are equally possible.

ior (Sindarin) 'old', a word pronounced like English 'yore'. It appears in the names of two people of Gondor: loreth ('old woman') and Iorlas (uncertain; perhaps simply 'aged'). The word was related to an older form iaur, as for example in Iant Iaur, the 'old bridge' across the river Esgalduin in Beleriand.

írim (Quenya) írima meant 'desirable', 'lovely', 'beautiful', deriving from the word íre, 'desire'. This element appears in a single recorded name, Írimon, the birth-name of the King who would rule Númenor as Tar-Meneldur, which seems to simply mean 'beautiful one'.

isen (Old English) 'iron', the name of the important river Isen, and its associated fortress complex Isengard ('iron enclosure'). This element is also seen in the names of certain Hobbits of the Took family, such as Isengar ('iron spear') and Isengrim (uncertain, but probably simply 'iron grim').

isil (Quenya) 'the Moon' (normally capitalised Isil) derived from a root sil- meaning 'shine with a silver light'. Its most famous appearance is in the name Isildur 'Devoted to the Moon', but it also appears in certain lesser names, such as Isilya 'Moon-day', the third day of the Elves' week. The Sindarin equivalent was Ithil, which Isildur used in the names of his own province of Gondor Ithilien ('Land of the Moon') and his fortress of Minas Ithil ('Tower of the Moon').

istar (Quenya) derived from a root word ista meaning 'knowledge', an istar describes a learned person, or someone with great reserves of wisdom. In practice, the term is used exclusively for the emissaries sent by the Valar to Middle-earth in the Third Age, and in this context istar is translated into English as 'Wizard'. Indeed, the English etymology of 'Wizard' is identical, as the word originally meant simply 'wise person' or 'sage'. The plural form is Istari ('Wizards'), and the full name of the order to which these emissaries belonged was Heren Istarion, the 'Order of Wizards'.

ith (Sindarin) a suffix that serves to turn a verbal base into a noun or an adjective, effectively equivalent to the ending '-ing' for English words. Examples include the river name Sirith ('flowing'), the month name Firith ('fading, dying'), and Nen Girith ('Shuddering Water') on the borders of Brethil. This grammatical form also appears in Minas Tirith (translated 'Tower of Guard', but literally 'watching tower'). A very common use was for narrow clefts or passes, with took the stem cir- 'cut' and added -ith to create the word cirith, literally meaning 'cutting'. Among numerous examples of this usage are Cirith Gorgor, ('Haunted Pass'), Cirith Ninniach ('Rainbow Cleft'), Cirith Thoronath ('Eagles' Cleft'), and many, many others besides.

ithil (Sindarin) 'the Moon', the Sindarin equivalent of Quenya Isil. It appears most prominently in the name of Isildur's city of Minas Ithil ('Tower of the Moon'), and Ithilien ('land of the Moon') in which it stood. The only other proper name that contains it is Ithilbor (apparently 'Moon-bold'), though it also appears in a few other terms such as Ithildin (translated 'Starmoon') and Orithil ('day of the Moon').

ivann (Sindarin) the Sindarin name for the Vala more usually known by her Quenya name, Yavanna, the 'Giver of Fruits'. This form of the name occurs in Ivanneth, the Sindarin name for Yavannië, the ninth month of the year.