The Biggest Tolkien Fans - According To Google Trends - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Lalwendë · 01-25-2008, 02:32 AM

Google trends is quite an interesting thing. It reveals a lot about what people like to search for on Google - including Tolkien!

Which cities in the world do the most searches for Tolkien? Here's the top ten:

1. Warsaw, Poland

2. Santiago, Chile

3. Buenos Aires, Argentina

4. Milan, Italy

5. Brussels, Belgium

6. Madrid, Spain

7. Amsterdam, Netherlands

8. Chicago, IL, USA

9. Paris, France

10. Sydney, Australia

And in the UK?
1. Oxford, United Kingdom

2. Cambridge, United Kingdom

3. Leeds, United Kingdom

4. Birmingham, United Kingdom

5. Bletchley, United Kingdom

6. Nottingham, United Kingdom

7. Bristol, United Kingdom

8. Edinburgh, United Kingdom

9. Milton Keynes, United Kingdom

10. London, United Kingdom

Interestingly, the Welsh and Scots register more searches for "tolkien" than do the English.

Overall, Norwegians are the people most likely to search for "tolkien" on Google.

However, if you put "Lord of the rings" into the database, the top ten global searches list returns the following top ten:

1. Birmingham, United Kingdom

2. Sydney, Australia

3. Melbourne, Australia

4. Manchester, United Kingdom

5. Toronto, Canada

6. Amsterdam, Netherlands

7. London, United Kingdom

8. Brussels, Belgium

9. Chicago, IL, USA

10. Los Angeles, CA, USA

Which makes Brummies the biggest fans of Tolkien's greatest work!

If you fancy a go, you can set the parameters to search within your own country or region. Have fun!

http://www.google.co.uk/trends?q=lor...ate=all&sort=0

Estelyn Telcontar · 01-25-2008, 05:01 AM

Interesting, Lal!
Just one comment about the international possibilities - "Tolkien" is the same in all languages, which is why it's likely to get searched for in so many countries. "Lord of the Rings" is English, and many readers in other areas of the world will not search for that, but for the translated equivalent in their own language.

Legate of Amon Lanc · 01-25-2008, 06:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar

Just one comment about the international possibilities - "Tolkien" is the same in all languages, which is why it's likely to get searched for in so many countries. "Lord of the Rings" is English, and many readers in other areas of the world will not search for that, but for the translated equivalent in their own language.

So that makes the folks from Amsterdam and Brussels the biggest Tolkien fans... or the most unfaithful to their nationality

The Might · 01-25-2008, 07:48 AM

I am surprised that Neuenrade, Germany didn't make since I live there.

Thinlómien · 01-25-2008, 08:02 AM

Bah, I'm sure that Helsinki, Finland would make it to those top tens if this wasn't such a little city. You know, in order to be fair, the number of searches should be compared to the number of inhabitants...

Aganzir · 01-25-2008, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thinlómien

Bah, I'm sure that Helsinki, Finland would make it to those top tens if this wasn't such a little city. You know, in order to be fair, the number of searches should be compared to the number of inhabitants...

I tried it with the name of the Finnish translation and Helsinki didn't even make it to the top ten of Finland.

But I think that must be because we already have all the Lotr related websites saved as bookmarks.

Lalwendë · 01-26-2008, 04:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thinlómien

Bah, I'm sure that Helsinki, Finland would make it to those top tens if this wasn't such a little city. You know, in order to be fair, the number of searches should be compared to the number of inhabitants...

Actually, Lommy, bang in a few names and so on and see what comes up (not everything will). I just typed in "aragorn" and Finns are way, way ahead of every other nation on searching this name! Top cities are Tampere and Helsinki. Finland, a nation obsessed by Aragorn!

Amusingly, Tykes are very interested in Gollum and Aragorn too, as Sheffield figures in the top tens on these name searches. Poles and Finns are fond of Sauron. Spain loves Tom Bombadil. Aussies and Swedes love Orcsies.

Meanwhile people of Alexandria in the USA have a truly disturbing obsession with Bilbo Baggins, as do the people of Bucharest with good old Boromir. I can only guess that with such weirdly high figures there are local things sharing those names!

BTW I apologise for double posting. I got all over excited because of a statistics database....what a nerd...

Mithalwen · 01-25-2008, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc

So that makes the folks from Amsterdam and Brussels the biggest Tolkien fans... or the most unfaithful to their nationality

Or extremely proficient anglophones. Unsurprisingly given that Dutch is so closely related to English, Netherlanders tend to speak English very well. Brussels is a very cosmopolitan because of the European organisations based there.
and I believe both countries were able to receive BBC broadcasts before technology made it more widely available. However the sad fact is for Tolkien's home country is that the English are notorious with regards to language learning and are unlikely to get better in the near future. On the continent it seems usual for anyone of university level education to have a working knowledge of at least one MFL...

Lalwendë · 01-26-2008, 04:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar

Interesting, Lal!
Just one comment about the international possibilities - "Tolkien" is the same in all languages, which is why it's likely to get searched for in so many countries. "Lord of the Rings" is English, and many readers in other areas of the world will not search for that, but for the translated equivalent in their own language.

I didn't think of that! It's interesting - what happens if say someone with their browser configured for the German language looks up Der Herr der Ringe (I think that's it?

) on Google? Does it only bring up German language pages or does it bring up all pages about Lord of the Rings?

Shame you cannot look up Barrow Downs on Google trends

Estelyn Telcontar · 01-26-2008, 04:55 AM

I did google "Herr der Ringe" (yes, you got that right, Lal!) - no further configuration was necessary - and got Austria ranking just barely ahead of Germany, then Switzerland. The top ten cities were all in Germany: Wesel, Bochum, Giessen, Erfurt, Kiel, Koblenz, Aachen, Leipzig, Würzburg, Braunschweig. Interestingly, those aren't the cities with the highest population, as one might logically think. Another interesting thing showed up on the search time chart - there was a peak at the beginning of the chart in 2004 (right after the third movie came out) and a slight rise at the end of that year (DVDs sold), since then it's been a fairly low level.

Lalwendë · 01-26-2008, 05:12 AM

That might suggest where the most "ringers" live then!

The high figures around the time of the films just shows how big the hype machine was!

If you put in "lord of the rings" you notice it rises slightly when Children of Hurin was released too. And Canadians seemed very interested in both 'the hobbit" and in "christopher tolkien".

Quite sad, actually, when you type in the names of the stars of the films, as John Rhys Davies doesn't feature so his star has fallen quite a lot, but the other stars still feature. Sean Bean is predictably most popular globally in Sheffield!

Estelyn Telcontar · 01-26-2008, 05:17 AM

Hmmm, that could mean that Karl Urban will be raising his statistics soon - he's billed to play Dr. McCoy in the new Star Trek movie!

Nerwen · 01-25-2008, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

However, if you put "Lord of the rings" into the database, the top ten global searches list returns the following top ten:

1. Birmingham, United Kingdom

2. Sydney, Australia

3. Melbourne, Australia

What? My hometown beaten by... SYDNEY?! Our deadly enemy?

Rumil · 01-25-2008, 12:13 PM

Awroight, s bostin innit, owr Brum top o th' werld!

Great to hear my (adopted) home city is top of the list, now can you configure it to see if Villians or Bluenoses are most Tolkieny? (Somehow I doubt its the Baggies)

PS top searchers for 'Saucepan' are in Reading, UK ;-)

01-25-2008, 02:32 AM	#1
Lalwendë A Mere Boggart Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: under the bed Posts: 4,737	The Biggest Tolkien Fans - According To Google Trends Google trends is quite an interesting thing. It reveals a lot about what people like to search for on Google - including Tolkien! Which cities in the world do the most searches for Tolkien? Here's the top ten: 1. Warsaw, Poland 2. Santiago, Chile 3. Buenos Aires, Argentina 4. Milan, Italy 5. Brussels, Belgium 6. Madrid, Spain 7. Amsterdam, Netherlands 8. Chicago, IL, USA 9. Paris, France 10. Sydney, Australia And in the UK? 1. Oxford, United Kingdom 2. Cambridge, United Kingdom 3. Leeds, United Kingdom 4. Birmingham, United Kingdom 5. Bletchley, United Kingdom 6. Nottingham, United Kingdom 7. Bristol, United Kingdom 8. Edinburgh, United Kingdom 9. Milton Keynes, United Kingdom 10. London, United Kingdom Interestingly, the Welsh and Scots register more searches for "tolkien" than do the English. Overall, Norwegians are the people most likely to search for "tolkien" on Google. However, if you put "Lord of the rings" into the database, the top ten global searches list returns the following top ten: 1. Birmingham, United Kingdom 2. Sydney, Australia 3. Melbourne, Australia 4. Manchester, United Kingdom 5. Toronto, Canada 6. Amsterdam, Netherlands 7. London, United Kingdom 8. Brussels, Belgium 9. Chicago, IL, USA 10. Los Angeles, CA, USA Which makes Brummies the biggest fans of Tolkien's greatest work! If you fancy a go, you can set the parameters to search within your own country or region. Have fun! http://www.google.co.uk/trends?q=lor...ate=all&sort=0 __________________ Gordon's alive!

01-25-2008, 05:01 AM	#2
Estelyn Telcontar Princess of Skwerlz Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles) Posts: 7,500	Interesting, Lal! Just one comment about the international possibilities - "Tolkien" is the same in all languages, which is why it's likely to get searched for in so many countries. "Lord of the Rings" is English, and many readers in other areas of the world will not search for that, but for the translated equivalent in their own language. __________________ 'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...'

01-25-2008, 07:48 AM	#4
The Might Guard of the Citadel Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Oxon Posts: 2,205	I am surprised that Neuenrade, Germany didn't make since I live there. __________________ “The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike.” Delos B. McKown

01-25-2008, 08:02 AM	#5
Thinlómien Shady She-Penguin Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: In a far land beyond the Sea Posts: 8,093	Very interesting, Lal! :) Bah, I'm sure that Helsinki, Finland would make it to those top tens if this wasn't such a little city. You know, in order to be fair, the number of searches should be compared to the number of inhabitants... __________________ Like the stars chase the sun, over the glowing hill I will conquer Blood is running deep, some things never sleep Double Fenris

01-26-2008, 04:55 AM	#10
Estelyn Telcontar Princess of Skwerlz Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles) Posts: 7,500	I did google "Herr der Ringe" (yes, you got that right, Lal!) - no further configuration was necessary - and got Austria ranking just barely ahead of Germany, then Switzerland. The top ten cities were all in Germany: Wesel, Bochum, Giessen, Erfurt, Kiel, Koblenz, Aachen, Leipzig, Würzburg, Braunschweig. Interestingly, those aren't the cities with the highest population, as one might logically think. Another interesting thing showed up on the search time chart - there was a peak at the beginning of the chart in 2004 (right after the third movie came out) and a slight rise at the end of that year (DVDs sold), since then it's been a fairly low level. __________________ 'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...'

01-26-2008, 05:12 AM	#11
Lalwendë A Mere Boggart Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: under the bed Posts: 4,737	That might suggest where the most "ringers" live then! The high figures around the time of the films just shows how big the hype machine was! If you put in "lord of the rings" you notice it rises slightly when Children of Hurin was released too. And Canadians seemed very interested in both 'the hobbit" and in "christopher tolkien". Quite sad, actually, when you type in the names of the stars of the films, as John Rhys Davies doesn't feature so his star has fallen quite a lot, but the other stars still feature. Sean Bean is predictably most popular globally in Sheffield! __________________ Gordon's alive!

01-26-2008, 05:17 AM	#12
Estelyn Telcontar Princess of Skwerlz Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles) Posts: 7,500	Hmmm, that could mean that Karl Urban will be raising his statistics soon - he's billed to play Dr. McCoy in the new Star Trek movie! __________________ 'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...'

01-25-2008, 12:13 PM	#14
Rumil Sage & Onions Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Britain Posts: 893	Brum-tastic Awroight, s bostin innit, owr Brum top o th' werld! Great to hear my (adopted) home city is top of the list, now can you configure it to see if Villians or Bluenoses are most Tolkieny? (Somehow I doubt its the Baggies) PS top searchers for 'Saucepan' are in Reading, UK ;-) __________________ Rumil of Coedhirion Last edited by Rumil; 01-25-2008 at 12:18 PM.