Monothematic Names

Monothematic names consist of a single element: for example, Wulf (“wolf”) and Hild (“battle”). In Old English, monothematic names often contained only one syllable, but they could also contain two (e.g., Hengest “stallion”), or sometimes perhaps even three syllables (e.g., Hagena, of uncertain etymology). Some names consisted of a single root element plus a suffix, for example: Golding (roughly, “from gold”). Such names are still considered monothematic, since the suffix is not an independent word.

Dithematic Names

Dithematic names consist of two elements put together: for example, Wulfstān (“wolf” + “stone”), Æþelwulf (“noble” + “wolf”), Hildeþrȳþ (“battle” + “strength”), and Ælfhild (“elf” + “battle”). These elements were usually nouns, but could also be adjectives. Sometimes both elements made sense together, but it was not necessarily always the case. The modern name Roseanne is not ordinarily understood—except by baby name books—as meaning something like “rose grace”. Rather it is seen as the combination of two separate names, “Rose” and “Anne”, each with its own separate meaning. This also seems to have been the case in Anglo-Saxon England, for some dithematic names at least.

In Anglo-Saxon England, dithematic names seem to have been the most popular type of name by far. The first and second elements of a dithematic name are known as the prototheme and the deuterotheme, respectively, but I think this article has enough Greek words anyway, so I will ignore those terms for the rest of this article.

Hypocoristic Names

Hypocoristic names are nicknames formed by shortening and/or transforming the original name in certain ways. They are used to show affection, or at least familiarity. For example, the names “Liz”, “Beth”, “Lisa”, and “Lizzie” are hypocoristic forms of the name Elizabeth. The Anglo-Saxons also had hypocoristic names. For example, Wulfstān or Æþelwulf might also be known as Wulf or Wuffa. Hildeþrȳþ or Ælfhild might be known as Hild or Hille. As may be seen, it is not always possible to distinguish monothematic from hypocoristic names.

Hypocoristic names were popular throughout the Anglo-Saxon period, and some historical figures are only known by such names. A historical king of Mercia and a legendary king of the Angles before the settlement of England shared the name Offa, presumably a hypocoristic name.

Bynames

Bynames are nicknames given to people based on some trait, quality, or circumstance. Often they were used to distinguish between different people who had the same name, being a sort of precursor to modern surnames. However, they were not inherited in Anglo-Saxon times, but only applied to individuals. Bynames were usually placed after the given name, but were sometimes used in place of it.

Perhaps the most well-known Anglo-Saxon byname is that of Æþelrǣd Unrǣd, or Æthelred “the ill-advised”, a King of England who lost his kingdom to the Vikings, though he did gain the kingdom back shortly before his death. Here his byname Unrǣd is clearly a play on his given name Æþelrǣd (“noble counsel”), but most bynames did not reference the given name. His son Ēadmund had the more complimentary byname “Ironside” (Īrensīde).

Helm Hammerhand

Helm “Hammerhand” is the King of Rohan in the film. The name Helm is a monothematic name. It means “helmet” literally, or more figuratively “ruler” or “protection”, in Old English. The modern word “helmet” is a diminutive form of the same word, which was borrowed from Norman French. Helm also has a byname, “Hammerhand”. This is in Modern English, although it would not be too different in Old English (Hamorhand, among several possible variants).

This byname presumably refers to his great strength, but for some reason Helm is also shown in the film literally holding a hammer in his hand. (There is a statue of Helm with a hammer in the live-action films, so the literal hammer is not without precedent.) Helm’s byname should not be interpreted as a modern family surname, although I have seen articles online that talk about “Héra Hammerhand”. Unless Héra herself kills someone with one punch, this is wrong.

Hild

Hild is the sister of Helm, and his only known sibling. I haven’t seen much mention of her in relation to the film, so she may not even appear in it. Her principal importance in Tolkien’s story—and presumably the film as well—is that she is the mother of Fréaláf Hildeson. Hild is a monothematic name that means “battle”. It would also be the perfect name for Helm’s daughter if Tolkien hadn’t already used it for his sister.

Haleth

Haleth is Helm’s eldest son. His name is also monothematic, from Old English hæleþ, a poetic word meaning “hero”, “warrior”, or “man”. Not to be confused with the woman of the same name in The Silmarillion, who led one of the three Houses of the Edain in the First Age (although her character was originally a man). Also not to be confused with the character—a boy who fought at Helm’s Deep—invented for the New Line film, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

Háma

Háma is Helm’s second son. His is also a monothematic name. It is the Old English name for the deity known in Old Norse as Heimdallr, who guards the rainbow bridge from Miðgarðr to Ásgarðr. The name Háma is likely related to the Old English root word hām, meaning “home”. Not to be confused with Théoden’s doorward of the same name—who was not eaten by a Warg, except in the films. (Though he did die in the Battle of the Hornburg.)

Fréaláf Hildeson

Fréaláf Hildeson is Helm’s nephew, the son of his sister, Hild. This avunculate relationship—between mother-brother and sister-son—was regarded as highly significant in ancient Germanic and Celtic cultures. Fréaláf’s name is dithematic, from the Old English elements frēa, meaning “lord”, and lāf, meaning “remnant” or “heir”. He also has the byname “Hildeson”, obviously meaning “son of Hild” (Old English Hildesunu), which emphasizes his connection to the royal family.

Freca

Freca is one of Helm’s lords, who claims descent from Helm’s great-great-grandfather, King Fréawine. He is also apparently partly of Dunlending ancestry as well. Freca’s name is monothematic. It means “one who is bold” or “warrior” in Old English, but can also mean “one who is audacious” or “one who is greedy”.

Wulf

Wulf is the son of Freca. His name is monothematic. It literally means “wolf” in Old English. It was a popular masculine name, both alone and in combinations such as Æþelwulf, Gūþwulf, Wulfstān, etc. Figuratively, Wulf can mean “outlaw”, and indeed Helm declares him an enemy in Tolkien’s story, forcing him to flee to Dunland.

Saruman

The Wizard Saruman, who is already well known to many from The Lord of the Rings, is in the film. His name is dithematic, and also from Old English, presumably given him by the Rohirrim. The first element is from searu, meaning “art”, “device”, “contrivance”, “deceit”, “stratagem”, or “machine”. The second element is from mann, meaning “a person”. This is roughly the same meaning as his Sindarin name Curunír: “skilled man”, or “cunning man”.

Éowyn

Éowyn is also in the film—at least, as the voice of the story’s narrator. Her name is dithematic, from the Old English elements eoh (“horse”) and wynn (“joy”). The form of her name represents a historical sound change that is known to have occurred in Old English: the loss of medial h with compensatory lengthening of the preceding vowel: Eohwyn(n) > Éowyn(n). A similar sound change occurred in later English—for example in the word “light”, which originally had a short vowel. Even more recently, in some dialects of English the loss of post-vocalic r has led to compensatory lengthening of the previous vowel: e.g., “harm” > “haam” (hām).

Beren and Beregond

Finally, although I have not seen their names mentioned in connection with the film—and they may not even be mentioned in the film itself—I think it is worth noting that Beren is Steward of Gondor at this time, and Beregond is his son. These are not to be confused with the Beren of the First Age who fell in love with Lúthien Tinúviel, or the Minas Tirith guard named Beregond who befriended Pippin. Their names are Sindarin, meaning “bold” and “bold stone”, respectively.

Héra

Of the names created for the film, Héra’s is by far the most prominent, and hence the most controversial. Héra is the daughter of Helm, and the one who sets the whole story in motion, albeit passively in Tolkien’s account. It is Freca’s proposal to have his son Wulf marry her, and Helm’s response to the proposal, that leads to everything that happens thereafter.

Helm’s daughter remains unnamed in Tolkien’s brief account, but for a feature-length film about the story, it is unthinkable that she remain nameless. The writers’ and producers’ solution, however, has not been universally accepted. One common complaint is that “Hera” is the name of a Greek goddess (etymology uncertain, but possibly related to “hero”). This is not necessarily an issue. There are girls and women in Central Asia who have the name “Nazgul”, and in those cases the similarity with the name of Tolkien’s Ringwraiths is a mere coincidence.

However, producer Philippa Boyens has stated that Héra was named after the Icelandic actress Hera Hilmarsdóttir (usually credited as Hera Hilmar). I have been unable to find a native Norse name “Hera”, which leads me to believe that the actress was, in fact, named—directly or indirectly—after the Greek goddess. The presence or absence of a diacritic on the e is without significance, in my opinion, as in Greek and Latin it was long as well.

The name Héra is not attested as an Anglo-Saxon name, which is not necessarily fatal: neither is Haleth, as far as I know. However, there is an Old English masculine noun, hēra, meaning “follower” or “servant”. Somehow, I don’t think that’s the meaning the WB creative team was going for. At issue here is that, on philological grounds, Héra is unlikely to be an Anglo-Saxon feminine name. (Which could be a subject for an article in itself.) That said, there is a similar Old English feminine noun, hēre, meaning “dignity”, “majesty”, or “greatness”, that would seem to fit. Tolkien might have written it as “Hére” or “Hérë”, and in Modern English its pronunciation would be virtually indistinguishable from that of Héra.

Speaking of diacritics, the name of the princess is sometimes seen online as “Hèra”, with a grave accent. See the discussion of Old English diacritics earlier in this article to understand why this is wrong—or at least, is contrary to both conventional scholarly and Tolkienian practice.

Olwyn

In the film, Héra has a maid named Olwyn. At first glance, Olwyn has the appearance of a dithematic Old English name ending with the wyn(n) element. However, appearances can be deceiving. If the second element is wyn(n), there is no obvious Old English candidate for the first element. Casting a wider net, however, gives us the Welsh name Olwyn or Olwen. Its meaning is “white footprint”: ol (“footprint”) + gwyn (“white”). Incidentally, it is the name of a character in the Welsh story of Culhwch and Olwen, which is believed to be one of Tolkien’s influences for the tale of Beren and Lúthien.

The Welsh were neighbors of the Anglo-Saxons. However, the issue here is that Tolkien used Welsh in the names of the Hobbits of Buckland, and in the place names around Bree, to demonstrate a Dunlending—or at least Dunlending-adjacent—influence. Is the implication here that Olwyn is herself of mixed Dunlending and Rohirric ancestry, but loyal to the royal household of Rohan? Or is it simply that someone picked a historical name that ends in “wyn” and said, “Looks good to me”?

Lief

There is also a chubby, short-haired blond boy named “Lief”. Lief is not Old English. However, it is the Modern English reflex of the Old English word lēof, meaning “beloved”. Using Tolkien’s conventions for writing the names of Rohan, it would appear as “Léof”. It is a monothematic name that is also attested in Anglo-Saxon literature.

The fact that the name is modernized as “Lief” is not a problem, as I see it. Tolkien was not consistent in his use of Old English, sometimes preferring more modern forms, perhaps for the benefit of his readers, who might otherwise have trouble reading the names out loud. Modernized names include Shadowfax, Snowmane, Snowbourne, Dunharrow, and Harrowdale. Tolkien rarely modernized the personal names of Rohirrim, but Erkenbrand’s name (instead of Eorcanbrand) has been altered from the Old English, apparently for ease of reading.

General Targg

Freca, and later Wulf, have a retainer named General Targg. It is unclear what sort of a name “Targg” is supposed to be. Possibly it is intended to be a Dunlending name. Tolkien wrote very little about the Dunlendish language, except to note that the word Forgoil, an epithet applied to the Rohirrim, means “strawheads”. However, presumably the language of Dunland is related to the language of Bree, which Tolkien represented with names and name elements derived from Welsh.

The name might possibly be related to the word targa (in Old English and several other ancient Germanic languages), meaning a small, round shield—a word which has been borrowed in some form into various other languages, including Celtic languages. Just as the Old English helm had an Old French counterpart, helmet, the Old English targa had an Old French counterpart, target, which is the source of our Modern English word “target”.

Lord Thorne

The Visual Companion mentions a certain Lord Thorne of the Wold. Thorne is a monothematic name, but its form is not clearly Old English. (Or if it is, it is not clear why it should be in the dative case, when names such as “Helm” and “Wulf” are not.) Presumably it means “thorn”, “hawthorn”, or possibly the Runic character “thorn”. Whatever the case may be, the Old English word would be þorn (in the nominative case), which is a masculine noun.

Using Tolkien’s conventions, the name would be written as Thorn. The meaning of the final “e” at the end is unclear. “Thorne” does occur in English place names and as a surname. It was apparently a Middle English variant of “Thorn”. Perhaps the “e” is used here to give the name an “Olde English” look, although paradoxically, for those who are familiar with real Old English, the effect is to make it look less ancient.

Wrot and Shank

There are at least two Orcs in the film, whose names are Wrot and Shank. Both names seem more reminiscent of English than of the Black Speech. In the case of Wrot, the initial wr is suggestive of a Germanic language. Possibly it derives from Old English wrōt, which means “snout”. More likely, I think it is a barely-disguised form of the Modern English word “rot”, meaning “decay” and “putrescence”. It derives from the Old English verb rotian (“to corrupt, putrify”).

The name Shank is probably from the Modern English word, which derives from Old English sceanca. In Old English the word typically referred to the lower leg, although it could occasionally refer to the thigh as well. However, the Orc’s name is likely influenced by modern slang meanings of the word “shank”, which include a makeshift knife, and the act of stabbing someone with such a weapon.

Old Pennicruik

Another character mentioned in the Visual Companion is “Old Pennicruik”, an elderly woman. The form of the name does not appear to be Old English. “Pennicruik” seems to be dithematic, though it seems more like a byname than a conventional Anglo-Saxon name.

The first element is likely pening (“penny”, a coin or a measure of weight), which also appears as penig and pennig, among other variants. The second element looks like the Scots form of the word “crook”. This is believed to be from Old Norse krókr, meaning “hook”, or something that is crooked. If Old English had a cognate word, it is unattested.

The name “Pennicruik” also resembles the Scottish surname Penicuik (or various alternate spellings), which is believed to be of a Brythonic (Celtic) origin, meaning “Cuckoo Hill”.

Ashere

From the 2025 tie-in calendar, we also know that Héra’s horse is named “Ashere”. Most likely this is from Old English Æschere, meaning literally “ash-wood army”, or poetically “spear-band”, as spear shafts were commonly made of ash wood. However, it could also mean “ship-band” for the same reason.

“Ashere” is a reasonable rendering of Æschere for a Modern English-speaking audience, although something like “Ashherë” would be more precise. Tolkien himself created the name “Marhari”, which is presumably reduced from “Marhhari”, and he often did not use the dieresis on the final e of names from Rohan, such as Folcwine, so in that sense “Ashere” does seem like a name Tolkien could have come up with.

Incidentally, Æschere is the name of a character in Beowulf, a beloved counselor of the Danish King Hrōþgār. Æschere is killed by Grendel’s mother in revenge for her son’s death at the hands of Bēowulf.

Lord Frygt

Lastly, over two years ago there was a rumored character said to be named “Lord Frygt”. So far, this character has not been confirmed by Warner Bros. It has been noted that frygt means “fright” in Danish, perhaps suggesting that the character is villainous, and perhaps even non-human. In late Old English the sounds written as g and h often became confused. For instance, the word burg (“fortified town”) was often written as burh or buruh. It is conceivable that the Old English word fryhtu (“fright”) could be written as frygtu or frygto. However, it is a feminine noun.

Another possibility is the Old English neuter noun fyrht, also friht, which means “divination” or “augury”. With metathesis of r and a preceding vowel (a quite common Old English sound change) and confusion of g and h, fyrht could easily become frygt.

Assuming that Lord Frygt is an actual character in the film, however, nothing is known about him, not even whether he is from Rohan or Dunland, or whether he is a Man, Orc, or something else. It is also possible that this rumored character exists, but his name has been changed—perhaps to Lord Thorne, for example.

Weald se Witega

Although all of these created names have been names of people or creatures so far, it seems there is at least one place name that has been created for the film. On maps of Rohan that have been distributed for film publicity, there is a wooded area just upstream from the Mouths of Entwash labeled “Weald se Witega”.

This is clearly Old English. The word weald meant “wood”, and survives in the name of The Weald, a wooded upland area in Southern England. A Northern dialectal variant of the same word, wald is the ancestor of Modern English “wold”, which refers to non-wooded upland areas. The word se is the masculine nominative definite article. That is to say, it was one form of the word “the” in Old English. The word wītega means “wise man”, “prophet”, “sage”, or “seer”. In the context of Middle-earth, however, I suspect it refers to a Wizard, or Istar.

The entire phrase “Weald se Witega”, then, may be directly translated as “Wood the Wizard”. It may be translated so, because se wītega is in the nominative (subject) case rather than the genitive (possessive) case. In order to get a translation such as “Wood of the Wizard” or “Wizard’s Wood”—which is what I believe the intent is—one would need to start with the Old English Weald þæs Wītegan or Wītegan Weald.