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Settlements
Dwelt at his father's farm, down South Lane from Bywater in the Westfarthing of the Shire
Pronunciation
Wilcome is pronounced 'wi'lkum'
Meaning
The meaning of Wilcome is uncertain; but is perhaps 'willow valley'2
Other names
Given the nickname 'Jolly'
Note
There were two members of the Cotton family named 'Wilcome', and this younger Hobbit also had an uncle of the same name; for that older member of the family, see Wilcome 'Will' Cotton

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  • Updated 19 August 2022
  • This entry is complete

Wilcome ‘Jolly’ Cotton

Tolman Cotton’s second son

The second of Tolman Cotton's four sons. With his three brothers and their sister Rose, Jolly Cotton had been a childhood friend of Sam Gamgee: in Mordor, Sam recalled paddling with the Cottons years earlier in Bywater Pool. During the War of the Ring, Wilcome and the other Cotton brothers helped defend their father's farm against Sharkey's Men, and played their part in helping Sam and the Travellers free the Shire.


Notes

1

III 2984 was also the year of the birth of Wilcome's sister Rose (who would later marry Samwise Gamgee), which raises the strong possibility that Rose and Wilcome were twins. This isn't necessarily the case (Rose might have been born very early in the year, and Wilcome very late), but it does seem the most parsimonious explanation for their shared birth year.

2

Wilcome shared a name with, and was presumably named for, his uncle, the brother of his father Tolman Cotton. The origins of the name are not explained, but as a real English name, 'Wilcome' would usually mean 'willow valley'. This implies that it originated as a place-name, suggesting that somewhere in the history of the Cottons was an ancestor who lived in a willow valley, or perhaps even in a place literally called 'Wilcome'.

No place named 'Wilcome' is recorded within the Shire, but it is perhaps relevant that there was a place called Willowbottom (which, like 'Wilcome', means 'willow valley'). It might even be conceivable that this was where the first use of the name 'Wilcome' originated among the ancestors of the Cottons.

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About this entry:

  • Updated 19 August 2022
  • This entry is complete

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