How Did Your Downs Name Come About? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Garin · 03-08-2006, 10:35 PM

I originally joined the Downs under the name Othin. It is a Middle Earth sounding name but actually a variation of Wodin or Oden, a Nordic-Germanic God. Actually THE big daddy of those Gods. For some reason I never got the confirmation Email to cement my entry into the Downs. Maybe it is best that I didn't name myself a God. I'm still not sure what happened, I even Emailed the Webmeister. Nonetheless, Othin is history.

Well, I have German heritage so I went looking for an ME-ish name that sounded like my true name (Craig) but held fast to my Teutonic personality.

I found Garin after some research. It is Old German meaning warrior.

I am happy with my choice and might even name a future son, Garin.

The Downs has a variety of names - Saucepan Man, Mormegil, Naria, Formendacil, Dancing Spawn..etc...

How did you come up with your name?

Formendacil · 03-09-2006, 01:06 AM

This thread comes very close to the "What does your Screen-name Mean?" thread over in Novices and Newcomers, but I'd like to argue for the defence that it is different enough in its intent to retain its open to the posters status.

Now, as regards my own name:

The meaning of Formendacil, as one can learn on the aforementioned thread, is essential "North-slayer" or "North-victor". Put into clear English "one who conquers the North" would be fairly accurate.

I tell you this not because it is the point of thread, but because it leads up to the point.

Nearly two years ago now, I was making my first foray into the online world- as someone who needed a username anyway (email names not counting). A rabid Tolkien fan, as most of you can probably discern, I began casting around for ideas.

Anything obvious, which is to say "Aragorn" "Legolas" "Frodo" or anything of the sort, was clearly out of the question. Not for me to be the ubiquitous Legolas_387.

Such was my preference for uniqueness that even relatively rarer names such as "Théoden" or "Elendil" or "Finrod" could be used. A LEGO website might have been what I was joining, but I wanted a name such as I would be able to register anywhere online, and not need to seriously fear another using it.

And, of course, it had to be Tolkien...

After discounting just about every Tolkien name that I fancied using for myself (I could have called myself Arakáno or something equally obscure, but none caught my fancy), I browsed through the Appendices of The Lord of the Rings. Now, for those of you not aware, I have always been enamoured of Kings- particularly Kings of high and ancient lineages. I thus felt a certain fondness for the great Kings of the Dúnedain, including the Kings of Gondor.

Now, in case no one here is aware, my linguistic skills are rather paltry. Foreign languages fascinate me, and I love to roll strange and unusual phrases off my tongue. I am, however, incredibly laze. My point being that although I was familar with the rules to Tolkien's pronunciations, and although I was more than familiar with the roots of most Sindarin and Quenya names (thanks to that helpful Appendix in the Silmarillion), I certainly couldn't pull one out of midair. And not for me the randomly generated pseudonyms of an online translator.

To make an unnecessarily long story a tad bit shorter, "Rómendacil", "Hyarmendacil", and "Umbardacil" all caught my eye. In particular the East/South associations of Rómendacil and Hyarmendacil intrigued me, and I did the translating to come up with Formendacil and Númendacil, the Northern and Western equivalents.

And BANG!

I had my username.

(Númendacil, in addition to not having as pleasing a sound to my ear as Formendacil, was disqualified on account of "West-victor" having some unsavoury, Ar-Pharazônic, connotations.)

So, we have finally arrived at the point where I registered as Formendacil on a LEGO website. From there on in, the story is quickly told. I have been Formendacil ever since, only resorting to an alternative name in the one case that Formendacil had too many characters. In that case, I resorted to "Formenwe" (Formenwë, to be Tolkien-spelling proper).

In joining the 'Downs forteen months ago, it was therefore a given that my habitual username, which was of Tolkien origin anyway, should be my alias of choice on this most august of Tolkien discussion boards.

Whew! That took more time than it ought...

Lhunardawen · 03-09-2006, 02:42 AM

The good ol' Downs Name Generator. However, I turned the innocent name into an Elven alter-ego of mine who has her own history in Middle-earth. Somehow I was able to tie her name and her history up with my personal title, and just recently, I managed to turn her "nickname" into an adjective and a noun any sane person wouldn't want to be associated with. But I'm not sane, so there.

Anguirel · 03-09-2006, 05:12 AM

I wanted Lomion, but for some reason it didn't work. There was already a Maeglin, and it was slightly too well-known for my liking anyway.

Then I remembered the self-effacing but exceedingly deadly sword...

Garin · 03-09-2006, 11:19 AM

Quote:

This thread comes very close to the "What does your Screen-name Mean?" thread over in Novices and Newcomers, but I'd like to argue for the defence that it is different enough in its intent to retain its open to the posters status.

Form, I saw that thread and yes I think the process is what I was looking at... It is interesting that Lhuna used the generator but the name took on a life of its own.

Mithalwen · 03-09-2006, 12:29 PM

Mine was a RPG character I created for a friend's short lived board. I just needed an ID and didn't want to reuse old screen names. It just was a name I had to hand - if I had any idea how the downs was going to take over my life I might have thought longer. I developed the name originally through the Elendor translator. RPG Mithalwen was Telerin with silver hair and so I wanted a shadowy, grey-silvery name with a nature connection. Mith is obviously grey and "alwen" apparently is an archaic/literary sindarin word for a tree but I don't think I have seen it in the books.

RPG Mithalwen made a brief appearance as herself at the green dragon but otherwise I have taken over the name or the name has taken over me! To start with I did try and keep it as "Mithalwen" in full but I gave up the unequal struggle.......

03-08-2006, 10:35 PM	#1
Garin Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Ciudad de Lago del Sal Posts: 331	How Did Your Downs Name Come About? I originally joined the Downs under the name Othin. It is a Middle Earth sounding name but actually a variation of Wodin or Oden, a Nordic-Germanic God. Actually THE big daddy of those Gods. For some reason I never got the confirmation Email to cement my entry into the Downs. Maybe it is best that I didn't name myself a God. I'm still not sure what happened, I even Emailed the Webmeister. Nonetheless, Othin is history. Well, I have German heritage so I went looking for an ME-ish name that sounded like my true name (Craig) but held fast to my Teutonic personality. I found Garin after some research. It is Old German meaning warrior. I am happy with my choice and might even name a future son, Garin. The Downs has a variety of names - Saucepan Man, Mormegil, Naria, Formendacil, Dancing Spawn..etc... How did you come up with your name? __________________ I am a sick man ... I am a spiteful man. I am an unpleasant man. I think my liver is diseased. Fyodor Dostoevsky "Notes From the Underground"

03-09-2006, 01:06 AM	#2
Formendacil Dead Serious Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Perched on Thangorodrim's towers. Posts: 3,326	This thread comes very close to the "What does your Screen-name Mean?" thread over in Novices and Newcomers, but I'd like to argue for the defence that it is different enough in its intent to retain its open to the posters status. Now, as regards my own name: The meaning of Formendacil, as one can learn on the aforementioned thread, is essential "North-slayer" or "North-victor". Put into clear English "one who conquers the North" would be fairly accurate. I tell you this not because it is the point of thread, but because it leads up to the point. Nearly two years ago now, I was making my first foray into the online world- as someone who needed a username anyway (email names not counting). A rabid Tolkien fan, as most of you can probably discern, I began casting around for ideas. Anything obvious, which is to say "Aragorn" "Legolas" "Frodo" or anything of the sort, was clearly out of the question. Not for me to be the ubiquitous Legolas_387. Such was my preference for uniqueness that even relatively rarer names such as "Théoden" or "Elendil" or "Finrod" could be used. A LEGO website might have been what I was joining, but I wanted a name such as I would be able to register anywhere online, and not need to seriously fear another using it. And, of course, it had to be Tolkien... After discounting just about every Tolkien name that I fancied using for myself (I could have called myself Arakáno or something equally obscure, but none caught my fancy), I browsed through the Appendices of The Lord of the Rings. Now, for those of you not aware, I have always been enamoured of Kings- particularly Kings of high and ancient lineages. I thus felt a certain fondness for the great Kings of the Dúnedain, including the Kings of Gondor. Now, in case no one here is aware, my linguistic skills are rather paltry. Foreign languages fascinate me, and I love to roll strange and unusual phrases off my tongue. I am, however, incredibly laze. My point being that although I was familar with the rules to Tolkien's pronunciations, and although I was more than familiar with the roots of most Sindarin and Quenya names (thanks to that helpful Appendix in the Silmarillion), I certainly couldn't pull one out of midair. And not for me the randomly generated pseudonyms of an online translator. To make an unnecessarily long story a tad bit shorter, "Rómendacil", "Hyarmendacil", and "Umbardacil" all caught my eye. In particular the East/South associations of Rómendacil and Hyarmendacil intrigued me, and I did the translating to come up with Formendacil and Númendacil, the Northern and Western equivalents. And BANG! I had my username. (Númendacil, in addition to not having as pleasing a sound to my ear as Formendacil, was disqualified on account of "West-victor" having some unsavoury, Ar-Pharazônic, connotations.) So, we have finally arrived at the point where I registered as Formendacil on a LEGO website. From there on in, the story is quickly told. I have been Formendacil ever since, only resorting to an alternative name in the one case that Formendacil had too many characters. In that case, I resorted to "Formenwe" (Formenwë, to be Tolkien-spelling proper). In joining the 'Downs forteen months ago, it was therefore a given that my habitual username, which was of Tolkien origin anyway, should be my alias of choice on this most august of Tolkien discussion boards. Whew! That took more time than it ought... __________________ I prefer history, true or feigned.

03-09-2006, 05:12 AM	#4
Anguirel Byronic Brand Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: The 1590s Posts: 2,778	I wanted Lomion, but for some reason it didn't work. There was already a Maeglin, and it was slightly too well-known for my liking anyway. Then I remembered the self-effacing but exceedingly deadly sword... __________________ Among the friendly dead, being bad at games did not seem to matter -Il Lupo Fenriso

03-09-2006, 12:29 PM	#6
Mithalwen Pilgrim Soul Join Date: May 2004 Location: watching the wonga-wonga birds circle... Posts: 9,458	Mine was a RPG character I created for a friend's short lived board. I just needed an ID and didn't want to reuse old screen names. It just was a name I had to hand - if I had any idea how the downs was going to take over my life I might have thought longer. I developed the name originally through the Elendor translator. RPG Mithalwen was Telerin with silver hair and so I wanted a shadowy, grey-silvery name with a nature connection. Mith is obviously grey and "alwen" apparently is an archaic/literary sindarin word for a tree but I don't think I have seen it in the books. RPG Mithalwen made a brief appearance as herself at the green dragon but otherwise I have taken over the name or the name has taken over me! To start with I did try and keep it as "Mithalwen" in full but I gave up the unequal struggle....... __________________ “But Finrod walks with Finarfin his father beneath the trees in Eldamar.” Christopher Tolkien, Requiescat in pace

03-09-2006, 02:42 AM	#3
Lhunardawen Hauntress of the Havens Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: IN it, but not OF it Posts: 2,538	The good ol' Downs Name Generator. However, I turned the innocent name into an Elven alter-ego of mine who has her own history in Middle-earth. Somehow I was able to tie her name and her history up with my personal title, and just recently, I managed to turn her "nickname" into an adjective and a noun any sane person wouldn't want to be associated with. But I'm not sane, so there.