The Elvish Name Database
Contributed by: Tanlaithwen

For those of you unfamiliar with the recently added “Elvish Name Database” here at CoE, here’s a few little details to get you started…

What is it?

The Elvish Name Database is a collection of names – sorted in alphabetical order – accurately translated into Sindarin.

Why has it been created?

The internet is a big place – there are lots of Lord of the Rings fansites out there and with them a lot of ‘Elvish Name Generators.’ Unfortunately, many of these are either random, or have translated the names incorrectly. As we like to be accurate here at CoE, we want to provide you with a “service that you can trust,” so you can guarantee that your Elvish name is as near-perfect as we can make it. (As Sindarin is an incomplete language, we often have to use synomyms of the meanings, and occasionally, we cannot translate the name at all.)

When was the Database started? When will it be completed?

The translating of names was begun back in the autumn of last year, and the Database was officially opened to the public on Monday, the 17th March. As to when it will be completed, nobody knows. But we keep working!

How do I use it?

Type in your name in the “Search” box that you see on the first page, and click “Search!” Underneath the search box are some little buttons -it is automatically set to “5 matches,” which means that five names will appear on one page. If you want a different number of names to be displayed on a page, click one of the other buttons before hitting “Search!”

When the page loads you could see one of three different things:
1) What appears to be the same screen as before – scroll down and you will find your name.
2) If, when you have scrolled down there is a name, but it is not the name that you searched for (for example, if you type “Gail” in the search box, it comes up with “Abigail” but not “Gail”), this means that the name is not in the Database yet. I will tell you how to request a name below.
3) It could say “Information not found.” This also means that the name is not in the Database yet.

What if the name I want does not appear in the Database?

If your name is not in the Database, click on the “Request Name Addition” link above the search box. Fill in the form by putting the name(s) you want translated in the “Names” box and, if you know the meaning of that name, put it in the “Meanings” box. Click “Add Information,” and check back in a day or two to see if we have added it to the Database yet. If you don’t know the meaning, we’ll look it up for you.

Please do not use this form for sending us names that you have translated into Sindarin yourself. If you want to become a Name Translator, please read on.

Where is this Name Database then?

On the Main Menu at the left side of your window, look under Languages. The bottom link is the “Elvish Name Database.”

Who works on the Database? Can I help?

Fìriel, Veaglarwen and myself are currently the only people working on this project. If you have some knowledge of Sindarin and want to help, please PM one of us – we will gladly reply. Currently we are only translating names into Sindarin, but if you know how to speak Quenya and would like to help out please PM as well!
Again, please do not use the “Request Name Addition” form for sending us names that you have translated into Sindarin yourself. If you want to become a Name Translator, please ask us.

Now that you have a basic overview of how the Name Database works, we’d encourage all of you to use this highly valube resource!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email