Names are important in Lord of the Rings. Anyone with a strong fondness for tabletop gaming has probably run to foreign languages, ancient texts, and subtle references to name a character. Tolkien practically invented those techniques. Most of his heroes have memorable, charming names that stand the test of time. His most well-known villain, Sauron, even sounds like a master of darkness. Before Sauron, Melkor cast darkness upon Middle-earth. Melkor is far from his only moniker, and every handle has a meaning behind it.
Deep Lord of the Rings lore is difficult to parse, but only because it’s so massive. There are countless characters, historical events, and tricky pieces of context to keep in mind. Most fans get by with everything they’ve learned from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. There’s plenty more to learn, but none of it is strictly necessary. Of course, another huge barrier for a lot of fantasy newcomers is the names of the characters. It’s tough enough to remember the lives of Frodo and Aragorn without also managing Ungoliant or Ar-Pharazôn.
What does Melkor’s name mean?
Like many of Tolkien’s names, Melkor has an in-universe meaning in a foreign language. Melkor’s name comes from the Quenya language, and its definition is “One who arises in Might.” Behind the scenes, Tolkien created his name with inspiration from the Akkadian word “malkū,” which means “king.” Earlier Elves would have called him “Melko.” Translated from Quenya, that means “Mighty One,” and it lives on as an occasional title. Other earlier translations included Belcha, Ulban, Melegor, and Meleko. Melkor stuck because the modern form of Quenya kept it alive. There is, however, a much more well-known name that defines Melkor.
Melkor is most often known as Morgoth. He sometimes carries the de facto surname, “Bauglir.” Though it reads like a legal name, Morgoth Bauglir is both an epithet and a vicious insult. Morgoth is Sindarin, and it translates to “Dark Enemy.” In context, the speaker intended the name to mean “Black Foe of the World.” Bauglir is also Sindarin, meaning “the Constrainer” or “Tyrant.” In total, his most common name would read as one of his many titles. It’s a condemnation of Melkor as a cruel and oppressive monster. Fëanor, the Elvish prince of the Ñoldor, cursed Melkor with the name Morgoth after the Dark Lord murdered his father. Melkor’s enemies would never use that name again, forever dubbing him Morgoth.
What other names does Melkor go by?
Morgoth, or Morgoth Bauglir, would be the default moniker for this character in Middle-earth. However, there are other names he could receive throughout the franchise. His name has translations into other Elvish languages. Sindarin is the most common Elvish language in the Third Age. When someone says “the Elven tongue” in The Lord of the Rings, they’re talking about Sindarin. If a person speaking Sindarin was to refer to Melkor, they would use the word “Belegûr.” It has the same basic meaning as Melkor’s once-common Quenya name. No one ever uses Belegûr, for the same reason that they stopped saying Melkor. Instead, Sindarin-speaking Elves call him “Belegurth.” It means “great death,” and it serves the same purpose as Morgoth. Melkor also supposedly had an original name that no mortal knows. The Valar speak an ancient and long-dead language that must have given Melkor some title. His first name remains unknown.
Where did Melkor get his titles?
Morgoth has received a variety of titles. He gave himself a lot of them, but others came from allies and enemies. Melkor called himself the “King of the World,” the “Elder King,” and the “Master of the Fates of Arda.” The last of those was a sort of threat he issued to Húrin, the greatest human warrior of the era. The Elves who lived in Cuiviénen called him the “Dark Hunter” before they defeated him in conflict. Morgoth’s disciple, Sauron, gave him several nicknames while trying to drum up support among Númenóreans. He called his master “Lord of All and Giver of Freedom” and “Lord of the Dark.” Here’s a short list of other titles that Morgoth picked up over the generations:
- The Black Hand
- The Black King
- The Dark King
- The Dark Lord
- Dark Power of the North
- Master of Lies
Most of Morgoth’s titles are either self-appointed or propaganda. His names, on the other hand, are insults by his enemies. No one will ever know the first name Melkor lived under. His existence as a nightmarish figure gave him a long list of curses, warnings, and insults from the people who hated him. Even his biggest fan shoves the word “dark” into one of his titles. Tolkien borrowed from one of the oldest languages in history to give his original villain an intimidating name. Imagine wielding the kind of power one would need to command this many terrible titles. Morgoth Bauglir deserves to be called names.