The characters of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings often went by multiple names. Gandalf, for example, was alternatively known as Mithrandir, Olórin, Greyhame, Tharkûn, and Incánus, among other titles. But most of these were nicknames given to him by the many different cultures he visited. For the Elves, it was a different story. As revealed in The Peoples of Middle-earth — the final volume of Christopher Tolkien’s The History of Middle-earth series, which collected his father’s notes and incomplete manuscripts — Elves had complicated naming conventions. For instance, Galadriel was only one of three names belonging to the Lady of Lothlórien, not counting translations of her names into other languages. At birth, Elves received a name from each parent and could receive additional names later in life. Each name served a different purpose in Elven society and revealed something about the Elf to whom it belonged.

The first name that an Elf received was a father-name. Elves typically went by their father-names in day-to-day life. Father-names within a given family tended to share syllables. Elrond’s relatives were a clear example of this; his mother was named Elwing, his brother was named Elros, and his sons were named Elladan and Elrohir. The prefix el, which meant “star” in the Elvish language of Sindarin, tied Elrond’s household together. Father-names could also serve political purposes. Fëanor from The Silmarillion named each of his seven sons after Finwë, the first King of the Noldor. He did so to position them as the rightful heirs to the throne and discredit his brother, whose father-name was similarly based on Finwë’s. A less dramatic Elven father might instead choose a name that represented a physical characteristic of his child, such as hair color, or an admirable trait that he hoped his child would embody.

Elven Names Predicted Their Futures

Types of Elven Names in The Lord of the Rings
Sindarin Term

Father-name
None officially provided, but likely ataressë

Mother-name
Amilessë

After-name
Epessë

Self-name
Kilmessë

Though father-names often drew from existing names, they were very rarely the exact same, especially for unrelated Elves. Fëanor added prefixes to the names of his sons to distinguish them, such as Nelyafinwë or Kanafinwë. This lack of repetition was so important to Tolkien that he made a major change to his lore to avoid it. When he realized that he had accidentally used the name Glorfindel for an Elf from the First Age and an Elf from the Third Age, he wrote that they were the same Elf who had been resurrected and sent back to Middle-earth, not unlike Gandalf. However, non-Elves had no qualms about using and reusing existing Elven father-names. This was common among the upper classes of Gondor; Denethor from The Lord of the Rings shared his name both with an earlier Steward of Gondor and with an ancient king of the Green-elves.

The next name that an Elf received was a mother-name. Elven mothers had a degree of foresight, which let them choose mother-names that suited the personality or destiny of their children. Mother-names were usually reserved for close family members, but some Elves preferred to use them over their father-names for various reasons. The aforementioned Fëanor was a mother-name meaning “Spirit of Fire.” He would come to be associated with fire both literally and figuratively; he was hot-headed and passionate, and he infamously burned the ships of his followers to prevent them from abandoning him. According to the section “Of the Return of the Noldor” from The Silmarillion, Fëanor “had neither burial nor tomb, for so fiery was his spirit that as it sped his body fell to ash and was borne away like smoke.

Not All Elven Names Were Given By Parents

In adulthood, an Elf could also receive an after-name. After-names commemorated important aspects of Elves’ lives, such as their occupations, their great deeds, or their noteworthy appearances. After-names usually functioned like surnames, though they were not shared among members of a family. Galadriel’s brother, Finrod, had the after-name Felagund, meaning “Cave-Hewer,” because he built an underground city called Nargothrond. Other times, after-names replaced an Elf’s father-name or mother-name in day-to-day life. High King Gil-galad’s name meant “Radiant Star,” which he earned because there were silver stars on his armor and shield, and Círdan’s name meant “Shipwright,” which he earned because he constructed the greatest sailing vessels in Middle-earth.

Non-Elven characters often translated the after-names of Elves into their native tongues. For instance, Arwen’s after-name was Undómiel, meaning “Evenstar,” so Aragorn called her Arwen Evenstar in The Lord of the Rings. Unlike father-names and mother-names, after-names were not always chosen by family members; they could be the inventions of spouses, friends, or in some cases, complete strangers recounting an Elf’s famous exploits. Elves could even select their own after-names, which were known as self-names, but this was rare. The most common reason for Elves to use self-names was if they wanted to go into hiding or protect their true identities.

Galadriel Was Not the Lady of Lothlórien’s Original Name

Gil-galad’s father-name was Ereinion, meaning “Scion of Kings.”
Some non-Elves who spent much time around Elves received titles similar to after-names; Túrin, for example, came to be known as Mormegil, meaning “Black Sword.”

For most of the Elves in his legendarium, Tolkien only provided one or two names, but he shared all three names of Galadriel. Her father-name was Artanis, meaning “Noble Woman.” Her father, Finarfin, chose this name because he wanted his daughter to be virtuous. It also matched his own father-name, which was Arafinwë, meaning “Noble Finwë.” Galadriel’s mother-name was Nerwen, meaning “Man Maiden.” Her mother, Eärwen, chose this name because she foresaw that Galadriel would be taller and stronger than most Elven women. Galadriel was her after-name, chosen by her husband, Celeborn. It meant “Radiant Crown,” referencing how she styled her shiny hair. According to the section “The Shibboleth of Fëanor” from The Peoples of Middle-earth, Galadriel went by her after-name because she thought it was “the most beautiful of her names.”

Not all Elves in Middle-earth likely followed the practice of using father-names, mother-names and after-names. Tolkien only gave one name each to the Elves of the Woodland Realm, for instance. Characters sometimes referred to Legolas as Legolas Greenleaf, but this was simply a translation of his first name, not a true after-name. Perhaps this custom only arose among the Light Elves who completed the journey to Valinor, which the ancestors of the Sindar Elves and Silvan Elves did not. Regardless, the Elves’ complicated naming conventions were a fascinating piece of worldbuilding that never directly came up in The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien loved his invented languages, so this served as an excuse to use them more often. Since all the names held significant meanings, they also allowed him to provide much more information about a given character than he could have through a single name.