aragorn

masculine name. Revered King, Kingly Valour

The hero of the War of the Ring and first king of the reunited Arnor and Gondor.

Possible Etymology: Tolkien considered several etymologies of this name. Its initial element was clearly ar(a)- “noble” (Let/426). Tolkien variously indicated that the meaning of the second element was either S. gorn “revered" (PE17/31, 113) or “valour” (PM/xii), so that his name meant either “Revered King” or “Kingly Valour”. Of the two, the etymological discussion for the meaning “Revered King” is more complete, giving the older form †Arangorn (PE17/113).

In another place Tolkien gave the Quenya equivalent of this name as Q. Aracorno (PE17/71), but does not seem to match either of the etymologies dissussed above, so this perhaps represents a third conception of the origin of the name.

Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, this character was initially a hobbit by the name of “Trotter” (RS/138). Tolkien eventually changed the character into a man, at which point the name N. Aragorn was given to the character (TI/6-7). Before the character became a man he briefly had the Elvish names N. Rimbedir >> Padathir (RS/198), Du-finnion (RS/361) and Ethelion (RS/395).