Frodo's in my bed!

[FrodoFriend]

I just read on Ardalambion that Frodo's real, original name in the Red Book of Westmarch is Maura. Weirdness!! I've had a stuffed tiger since I was a baby named Maura and I've slept with it in my bed for 15 years!!!! Furthermore, MY actual name is Maureen . . . This is too strange, I'm going to have nightmares and I'll never look at that tiger the same way again . . .

[emplynx]

You and Frodo, FrodoFriend, are a little too close IMHO. J/K. That is really cool. I have never heard that name, Maura, before, and I am glad they changed it to Frodo, a much cooler name!

[TrewynEvenstar]

And Pippin was originally Falco...thank goodness that was changed. Ugh. :)

[Darth Tater]

I thought I was gonna have to close this thread ;)

[Banazir]

An amazing coincidence, FrodoFriend, I understand your shock at the discovery.

And I think it's a real pity that some names were changed. 'Maura' is way cooler than 'Frodo'. More beautiful and dignified. More fitting to the character.

P.S. Pippin's real name is supposed to be Razanul, not Falco.

[Ñólendil]

I think Trewyn thought that 'Maura' was Frodo's name in an earlier version or something.

Trewyn, Maura Labingi was Frodo's actual historical name (accepting the War of the Ring and all that as history). It is a Westron ('Aduni' in that tounge) name of the Hobbitish dialect. Tolkien 'translated' (the way he went about it differed in different names) them into English. Banazîr Galbasi became Samwise Gamgee, Maura Labingi became Frodo Baggins, Razanur Tûk Peregrin Took, and Kalimac Brandagamba to Meriadoc Brandybuck.

[Banazir]

Thank you, Inoldonil, for elaborating on this. A really useful bit of information.

[FrodoFriend]

Heh heh. Thought that might catch a few eyes. ;) :D

The changes of names is really cool, I think. It makes the story seem so real. And Maura is a very nice name (even though Frodo is cute too).
Does anyone know why it was changed to Frodo? I see why he wouldn't leave it as Maura, since it's rather feminine-sounding, but why Frodo?

[Ñólendil]

Frodo was chosen because it has a similar meaning. I think Maura means something like 'wise'. Froda is Old English for 'Wise by expierience', so Tolkien took Froda and Anglicised it because of what we consider masculine: i.e., changing the last 'a' to 'o'.

[FrodoFriend]

Thanks for the info. That's really really cool. I'm consistently amazed at the detail and thought that went into these books.

[Wayfarer]

So, *ahem* what exactly is the nature of your relationshilp, 'friend'? ]: )

[FrodoFriend]

The nature of my *ahem* relationship is indeed that of *ahem* "friend", though I would also call myself an admirer, sympathizer, and *AHEM!* "devotee". An immoral and, if I may say so, shameful *cough* relationship of the type you seem to be implying *meaningful glance* would never cross my mind *suspiciously innocent expression*. The revelation that my stuffed animal bears the same name as my favorite hobbit in no way affects the deep . . . respect, and passionate . . . er, appreciation I have for the said hobbit. AHEM!! ;) :D

[fireworks19]

LOL

[bropous]

As to the names of Frodo...

Sometimes I slip when talking about Frodo, and I stammer, "Bilbo...no, Frodo...".

This morning my girlfriend added a new slant to the misstep...in asking about a section at the end of Fellowship of the Ring [she's reading the books the second time through], she sleepily said, "Bilbo...no, Hobo...no, FRODO!". We laughed our hindquarters off!

Heck, at least she hasn't read Harvard Lampoon's "Bored of the Rings"...then it would be, "Bilbo...no, Hobo...no, Frito...no, FRODO!"

[Rána Eressëa]

I really like the original names in an odd way very much. Especially Frodo's and Pippin's.

[cassiopeia]

Oh damn, I thought this thread was going to be interesting. ;) :D

[Rána Eressëa]

I had remembered seeing it a long time ago in the early days of "What Would You Do? heh heh heh . . . ", but I never got around to replying until now. :D

Well, better late than never.

I forgot that Maura was a Westron name and thought for a while it was Elvish, but I'm clearly back to my senses now.

[katya]

i like the name maura. that would be a good name for a kid that was not obviously tolkien inspired but...is. i like all the translated names but it seems like, well nevermind i guess its better that way. i wonder why the a ending sounds feminine. its another weird cultural thing i suppose.

[Elenka]

I'm glad it's Frodo instead of Maura. Maura sounds too...feminine. But I do have to say, if I was changing my name, any name with "Frod" in it would NOT be on the list.

[Sminty_Smeagol]

What's Westron? Hobbitish? lol...

Also, what language did all the people speak in ME rather than English? What was the Common Tongue? did tolkien ever document it? It's weird because now that I think about it the people of ME prolly didn't speak english as we read it in the books... it was probably "translated" in to english from whatever the Common Tongue was.

I feel so... foreign!

-~*Sminty*~-

[Starr Polish]

Westron was the Common Tongue, and I don't know if much was ever really written.

[Ñólendil]

There's a good page on Westron here (http://www.uib.no/people/hnohf/westron.htm)

[Sminty_Smeagol]

Thanks nolendil, but I actually found that page last night on google... very interesting... but now I feel all foreign! I had always thought they had spoken English... and to think they weren't Frodo and Sam and Pippin, but those were english translations.... geez...


-~*Sminty*~-

[RosieCotton]

What an interesting thread! I know a baby named Maura, but I never associated it with Tolkien. They probably won't change the name to Frodo though...its a girl :D

[Rána Eressëa]

I would love to see the book written in Westron. That would be rather interesting. Of course, it would cause much confusion . . .

[markedel]

And to make life more depressing he translate Rohirric, and the language of every other non-Elvish language the same way, the further the distance from Westron, the further the distance from English. So we'll never learn what Theoden's real name is!

[Erawyn]

So sad!

[Sminty_Smeagol]

*in sammish voice* We may yet mr. markendel, We may.

Because there are still some works that have yet to be published, no?

-~*Sminty*~-

PS- are you saying Aragorn's real name wasn't really Aragorn?

[markedel]

No Aragorn is Sindarin.