List of hobbit families
Hobbits are a fictional race in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth books. They first appear in The Hobbit and play an important role in the book The Lord of the Rings.
This is an alphabetical list of hobbit families that are mentioned by surname in Tolkien's works.
B[edit]
The Baggins family lived in the Shire, mostly in or near the town of Hobbiton. Evidently aristocratic landowners, they intermarried extensively with the two titled families of the Shire, the Tooks and the Brandybucks. It seems likely that the Bagginses were the major landowners and leading family of the area around Hobbiton. They were seen as respectable (indeed, as more respectable than the aristocratic Tooks) until Bilbo Baggins set out on the quest of Erebor with Gandalf the Grey and thirteen Dwarves: when he returned he was seen as odd or queer, but also extremely rich. Bilbo adopted his "nephew" Frodo Baggins, who inherited the smial of Bag End after Bilbo left. Frodo himself was involved in the quest of The Lord of the Rings, which ended the War of the Ring.
The Baggins clan traces their origin to the first recorded Baggins, one Balbo Baggins, who was born in or near Hobbiton in 1167 of the Shire reckoning (T.A. 2767). Bilbo is a great-grandson of Balbo, as was Frodo's father Drogo. The name Baggins is a translation in English of the actual Westron name Labingi, which was believed to be related to the Westron word labin, "bag".[1]
After Bilbo and Frodo left, the only recorded Bagginses are the descendants of Bilbo's great-nephew Posco Baggins, although many other descendants of Balbo Baggins are also recorded, under the Sackville-Bagginses, as well as Peregrin Took and Meriadoc Brandybuck (through various interfamily marriages).
- Banks
Found in both the Shire and Bree. The name may have referred to dwellings along river banks. One of its members include Eglantine Banks, mother of Pippin and his three sisters.
- Boffin
A family with many connections to the Bagginses and Tooks. Apparently found in the Yale, Overhill, and other areas surrounding Hobbiton. The name is an Anglicization of the old hobbit term Bophîn, of unknown meaning.
- Bolger
The Bolgers (anglicization of Bolgra, name of unknown meaning in Hobbitish Westron) are a family of Fallohidish origin, associated with the village of Budgeford, on the Water in the Eastfarthing of the Shire. In common with the Brandybucks and the Tooks, the Bolgers had a penchant for heroic names, and so as well as Fredegar Bolger (the most important Bolger in Tolkien's work), we find such noble names as Fastolph, Gundabald and Odovacar. Of the 15 recorded Bolger marriages, 5 were to Bagginses.
- Bophîn
The Westron form of Boffin.
- Bracegirdle
A family of hobbits living in Hardbottle and possibly other areas of the Shire.
- Brandagamba
The Westron form of Brandybuck.
- Brandybuck
An important family of Fallohide origin that founded and was primarily found in the Buckland. The Westron form of 'Brandybuck' was Brandagamba. This roughly translates into Borderland Buck or Borderland Young Man.
- Brockhouse
Found in both the Shire and Bree. The name means 'badger house' and referred to the similarity between hobbit-holes and badger dwellings.
- Brown
Working-class Shire hobbits.
- Brownlock
Shire hobbits whose name may refer to brown hair.
- Bunce
Hobbits of the Shire, possibly in the area around Michel Delving. Old Mrs. Bunce, a resident of Michel Delving, features in the poem Perry-the-Winkle, published in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.
- Burrowes
A name found only as one of those who was auctioning off Bag End at the end of The Hobbit and as an alternate spelling of 'Burrows' in Tolkien's notes.
- Burrows
Hobbits of the Shire. The name likely referred to their underground dwellings.
- Butcher
A name found only in the form Bill Butcher, the butcher of Michel Delving in the poem Perry-the-Winkle, published in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.
C[edit]
- Chubb
Shire hobbits who may have been wealthy. Tolkien chose the name for its similarity to 'chubby', but the actual English surname refers to a type of river fish.
A collateral branch of the Baggins family of Shire hobbits.
- Clayhanger
This family of Shire hobbits is mentioned only in one of Tolkien's letters.
- Cotton
Shire hobbits found primarily in Bywater. The name derives not from the plant, but from 'cottage-town', which may have been an earlier name for Bywater. The Westron form of the name was Hlothran, of the same meaning.
D[edit]
- Diggle
A surname appearing only on the Bolger family tree in The Peoples of Middle-earth.
F[edit]
- Fairbairn
The descendants of Elanor Gardner. The name means 'fair-born' and was meant by Tolkien to imply the good looks and blond hair of the family.
Not strictly a family, but rather one of the three 'breeds' of hobbits. The name is derived from 'fallow-hide' meaning 'pale-skin'.
G[edit]
- Galbasi
Original Westron form of Gamwich.
- Galpsi
The Westron form of Gamgee, developed from Galbasi.
- Gamgee
Originally a working-class family including rope-makers and gardeners. The family name had evolved from Gamwich to Gammidge to Gamgee. The family name was changed again by Samwise Gamgee into Gardner.
Tolkien took the name "Gamgee" from a colloquial word in Birmingham for cotton wool. This was in turn derived from Gamgee Tissue, a surgical dressing invented by a 19th-century Birmingham surgeon named Sampson Gamgee. Tolkien originally used it as a nickname for a man living in Lamorna Cove, England before adapting it into his stories:
"There was a curious local character, an old man who used to go about swapping gossip and weather-wisdom and such like. To amuse my children I named him Gaffer Gamgee... The choice of Gamgee was primarily directed by alliteration; but I did not invent it. It was caught out of childhood memory, as a comic word or name. It was in fact the name when I was small (in Birmingham) for 'cotton-wool'. (Hence the association of the Gamgees with the Cottons.) I knew nothing of its origin."[2]
- Gammidge
Ancestors of the Gamgee family.
- Gamwich
Ropers and ancestors of the Gammidge family.
- Gardner
The surname taken by Sam Gamgee later in his life and passed down to his descendants. It referred to his original occupation as a gardener. It apparently later changed to Gardner of the Hill.
- Gawkroger
A surname only appearing in drafts as a predecessor to 'Goodbody'. Also spelled Gaukroger. The name means 'clumsy roger'.
- Goldworthy
The maiden name of Hanna Brandybuck.
- Goodbody
Hobbits of the Shire.
- Goodchild
The maiden name of Bell Gamgee.
- Goodenough
A name appearing only on Boffin family tree in The Peoples of Middle-earth.
- Goold
The maiden name of Menegilda Brandybuck.
- Greenhand
Family of gardeners living in Hobbiton. Closely related to the Gamgees.
- Grubb
Hobbits of the Shire. The name is related to the verb 'grub', meaning to dig or root around. The name first appears in The Hobbit.
H[edit]
Not strictly a family, but rather one of the three 'breeds' of hobbits. The name is derived from 'hair-foot'.
- Hayward
Hobbits of the Eastfarthing. The name means 'fence-guard' and refers to an occupation of inspecting fences and assuring that cattle do not stray. Buckland's Haywards possibly had a particular association with its great eastern hedge-fence, the High Hay. The name 'Hayward' may also have its origins in the title of the officers who were responsible for overseeing the harvesting of crops on Medieval manors.
- Headstrong
The maiden name of Malva Brandybuck.
- Hlothran
- Hogg
A name found only in the form 'Old Farmer Hogg' (or simply 'Hogg'), a resident of Michel Delving in the poem Perry-the-Winkle, published in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.
- Hornblower
Shire hobbits primarily found in the Southfarthing. The name was derived from an old family occupation. Tobold Hornblower, Old Toby was the first to introduce pipe-weed in the Shire.
L[edit]
- Labingi
The Westron language form of Baggins.
- Lightfoot
A surname appearing only on the Bolger family tree in The Peoples of Middle-earth. It is also the name of a horse of Rohan.
- Longholes
Hobbits of Bree and possibly the Shire. The name likely refers to their dwellings.
M[edit]
- Maggot
Hobbits of the Shire. The name was intended to be without any clear meaning rather than a reference to larvae—unlike when Orcs referred to each other as "maggots".
- Mugwort
Hobbits of Bree. The name refers to a type of plant.
N[edit]
- Noakes
Shire hobbits of the working class. The name is derived from a place of dwelling and means 'at the oak' or 'dweller by the oak tree'.
- North-tooks
The descendants of Bandobras Took. The family primarily dwelt in Long Cleeve.
O[edit]
- Oldbuck
The descendants of Bucca of the Marish ('Old Bucca' = Oldbucks). Later crossed the Brandywine and changed their name to Brandybuck. The Westron version of Oldbuck is Zaragamba.
P[edit]
- Pott
A name found only in the form 'Old Pott', the Mayor of Michel Delving in the poem Perry-the-Winkle, in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil collection. Possibly a first rather than family name.
- Proudfoot
Hobbits of the Shire. The name may be a reference to family pride in having exceptionally large and furry feet. Tolkien gives two possible plural forms: Proudfoots and Proudfeet.
- Puddifoot
Shire hobbits of Stock and the Marish. The name is meant to suggest 'puddle-foot' and referred to the marshy area in which the family dwelt.
R[edit]
- Roper
Family of rope makers living in Tighfield. Closely related to the Gamgees.
- River Folk
Family of Stoors living on the banks of the Anduin, with a matriarch (Gollum's grandmother). Sméagol and Déagol belonged to this family.
- Rumble
Working class hobbits of Hobbiton and possibly other parts of the Shire. The name no longer had any particular meaning by the time of The Lord of the Rings.
S[edit]
- Sackville
Wealthy family of the Shire.
A family that was created by the marriage of Longo Baggins and Camellia Sackville. The family lasted over a century before becoming extinct.
- Sandheaver
Hobbits of Bree and possibly the Shire. The name referred to tunnel construction.
- Sandyman
Working-class hobbits of the Shire. One Sandyman family ran the Hobbiton mill.
- Smallburrow
Working-class hobbits of the Shire. The name referred to their homes.
Not strictly a family, but rather one of the three 'breeds' of hobbits. The name means 'large, strong'.
T[edit]
- Took
A wealthy clan who held the Thainship. The name had no specific meaning. Bilbo's mother, Belladonna Took, came from this family. The head of the clan was called the Took.
- Tûk
- Tunnelly
Hobbits of Bree and possibly also the Shire. The name likely refers to tunnelling.
- Twofoot
Hobbits of the Shire.
- Townsend
Hobbits of Bree. The name possibly comes from the area they lived in.
U[edit]
- Underhill
Hobbits of Bree and the Shire. The Shire branch may have been named for the area below Hobbiton hill, also called Under-hill. Frodo Baggins used this name when travelling incognito.
W[edit]
- Whitfoot
Somewhat prominent family of Shire hobbits. The Mayor of the Shire during the War of the Ring was Will Whitfoot. The name means 'white foot'.
Z[edit]
- Zaragamba
See also[edit]
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References[edit]
- ↑ Christopher Tolkien, The History of Middle-earth, Volume XII, The Peoples of Middle-earth, "The Appendix on Languages", p. 48.
- ↑ Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (1981), The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, No. 257, ISBN 0-395-31555-7
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