House of Haleth - Etymology of Names

Etymology of Names

According to early writings of Tolkien, the names of the descendants of 'Haleth the Hunter' (see section below) were given in Sindarin, with the following meanings: Hundor 'heart-king', Handir 'intelligent man', Brandir 'noble man'; and also Haldir 'hidden hero', though at that stage it was the name of Orodreth's son. Later, however, Tolkien stated that the names of the Haladin were given in their own language, with their meanings mostly unknown to later historians, and noted that "hal(a) = ... 'watch, guard'. Halad was a warden. (Haldad = watch-dog.)" Soon he changed the sense of the root: "Hal- in the old language of this people = head, chief", and proposed to introduce Halbar as both a term for 'Chieftain' and the name of older Haldar, but this was not introduced into any narrative.

The names with meanings known for certain are Hiril 'lady' and Meleth 'love', for they are the only names of the Haladin that were given in Sindarin. Hareth's name presumably also means 'lady', but in the tongue of the Folk (the grave of Haleth, daughter of Haldad, is called both Ladybarrow and Tûr Haretha). Thus to both his daughters Halmir gave a name signifying 'lady', but in different contemporary languages.