One of four children of Hobson. Her father was also known as Roper Gamgee, but May lived at a time when the family name 'Gamgee' was still evolving, and it is unclear whether she should properly be called 'May Gamgee' or not.
May was the younger sister of Hamfast Gamgee, and was thus Sam Gamgee's aunt. She is not to be confused with her niece, Sam's elder sister, who was also named May. Given the preponderance of flower-names in her family, it seems reasonable to guess that her name came ultimately from the Mayflower, rather than the month of the same name.
Notes
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The name 'Gamgee' came into existence as a nickname of May's father Hobson, who was also known as 'Roper Gamgee'. This nickname would give rise to 'Gamgee' as a family name, but it's not entirely clear whether, at this early stage, May would have used it as a family name. Of her elder brothers, one (Hamfast Gamgee) used the name, but another (Andwise Roper) apparently did not. It's thus difficult to be sure whether May would have used the full name 'May Gamgee'.
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Based on circumstantial evidence, for the most part May's generation of the family seem to have been settled in Tighfield. Her great-grandfather Wiseman Gamwich was known to have moved there from the family's former home of Gamwich, and her elder brother Andwise was explicitly from Tighfield. It is noted that May's brother Hamfast (the father of Samwise) removed to Hobbiton to work as a gardener, implying that the rest of the family, including May, remained behind in Tighfield.
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It was commonplace for the Shire-hobbits to name their girl-children after flowers. For example, May had nieces named Daisy and Marigold, as well as a namesake of May, so it seems all but inescapable that May's name also refers to a flower. There are various different kinds of flowers named 'may', but in context the connection here is probably with the hawthorn or 'may tree', which produces blossoms or 'may flowers' in springtime. The name ultimately comes from the fact that the hawthorn typically flowers during the month of May.
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- Updated 5 March 2025
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