The fantasy trilogy The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) by English writer J. R. R. Tolkien was first published in the mid-1950s.
The trilogy started becoming popular in the U.S. in the 1960s, and this is when we first see LOTR character names (like Galadriel and Gandalf) popping up in the U.S. baby name data.
Tolkien’s tale became very popular when director Peter Jackson turned the trilogy into three successful movies: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), and The Return of the King (2003).
So how did the books and the movies influence U.S. baby names? Let’s check it out…
Arwen
The name of the female half-elf Arwen debuted in the SSA data in 1968 and saw a steep increase in usage from 2002 to 2004. The character’s name means “noble maiden” in the fictional language Quenya (which Tolkien based largely on Finnish and Latin).
Aragorn & Strider
The name of the human man Aragorn debuted in the SSA data in 1970. The character’s name means “revered king” in the fictional language Sindarin (based largely on Welsh). His nickname, Strider, debuted in 1973.
Eowyn
The name of a human woman Eowyn debuted in the SSA data in 1973 and saw a noticeable increase in usage from 2003 to 2005. The character’s name means “horse joy” in the fictional language Rohirric (based on Old English).
Frodo
The name of the male hobbit Frodo (who was one of the main protagonists of LOTR) has never popped up in the SSA data — but I know of one in England. The character’s name is an English translation of his real name, Maura, which means “wise” or “experienced” in the fictional language Westron (the “common speech” of Middle-earth).
Galadriel
The name of the female elf Galadriel (who was the grandmother of Arwen) debuted in the SSA data in 1969. Peak usage was in 2003. The character’s name means “maiden crowned with a radiant garland” in Sindarin.
Gandalf
The name of the male wizard Gandalf appeared in the SSA data just once, in 1970. (Five baby boys were named Gandalf that year.) The character’s name means “wand-elf” in Westron.
Legolas
The name of the male elf Legolas debuted in the SSA data (and saw peak usage) in 2003. The character’s name means “green foliage” in Sindarin.
Peregrin & Pippin
The name of a male hobbit Peregrin debuted in the SSA data in 2011. The character’s name — an English translation of his Westron name, Razanur — is based on Peregrinus, which means “traveler” or “pilgrim” in Latin. His nickname, Pippin, debuted (as a girl name) in 2009.
Samwise
The name of a male hobbit Samwise debuted in the SSA data in 2002. The character’s name is an English translation of Sam’s real name, Banazîr, which means “halfwise” or “simple” in Westron.
Theoden
The name of the human man Theoden (who was the uncle of Eowyn) debuted in the SSA data in 2004. The character’s name is based on the name Tûrac, which means “king” in Rohirric.
Thorin
The name of the male dwarf Thorin debuted in the SSA data in 1968. The character’s name is based on the Old Norse name Þorinn, which means “bold one.” (Commenter elbowin notes that the name became more popular in the 2010s thanks to the character being featured in the Hobbit movie trilogy from 2012 to 2014.)
Which Tolkien-inspired names do you like most?
- Update, May 2015: The name Tauriel, though technically not a Tolkien name (it was created for the movies), debuted in the data in 2014.
- Update, May 2016: The name Beorn, from a character in the second two movies of the Hobbit trilogy, debuted in the data in 2015. (The Vikings name Bjorn may have been an influence as well.)
- Update, April 2019: The name Tolkien itself debuted in the data in 2017. (The second syllable rhymes with the word keen.)
Sources:
Image: Screenshot of The Two Towers
[Latest update: Apr. 2025]
This is interesting, a dozen years ago I used to deal with a woman at the Smithsonian named Arwen. She had a last name that sounded like it was Lord of the Rings-esque as well.
P.S. I love your site, I’ve been following you for a while now, keep up the good work!
P.P.S. In the course of my work I ran into a boy whose first name was 35 letters long. Have you ever run across Mohawk names before?
The dwarven names Dain, Thorin and Balin also made it into the SSA lists, but not Gimli. And Beren (from the Silmarillion, but mentioned in LOTR) occurs since 1980.
Frodo was a legendary danish king, and variation of that name like Frode are popular in Norway, but in not the USA.
The trick with Arwen is that you can always claim that it is a traditional welsh name … and Tolkien loved the sound of welsh.
Kenzie, thanks! :) I’ve read a bit about Mohawk names before, but I’ve never written a post about Mohawk names here. Do you happen to remember his name?
elbowin, thanks for the extra info!
I think that trick for Arwen would have worked better before the movies came out. :)
And here is a name with an anti-Tolkien pattern: Bilbo was in the SSA statistics from 1910–28, and never appeared again.
Maybe the Hobbit films change this?
P.S. The name Rohan (traditional scottisch or indic) may also been boosted by LOTR.
Just spotted an article about a NZ writer named Eowyn nearly four decades ago–long before the name became trendy.
“When Eowyn Ivey’s mother named her after a character in The Lord of the Rings 39 years ago, few recognised the fact.”
The rest here: Eowyn Ivey’s fantasy story, The Snow Child
My daughter is named Arwen Lothlorien (first and middle name) and has not chosen to change her name in her 36 years. She had another Arwen in her middle school class, and a colleague of mine named his daughter Arwen the same year.
Thorin is really taking off just now, it has increased from 2012 to 2014 from 31 via 73 to 112 baby boys.
Thanks, elbowin!
My son is Samwise :) , Samwise Abraham Ginting.
My daughter is Lórien (born 2015). We are both Catholic and LOTR fans, so Lórien worked as it is also an alternative spelling for Saint Laurence (laurent, lorien – e.g.San Lorien, Spain).