When JRR Tolkien wrote the Lord of the Rings he didn't just give his characters any name he felt like.

The invention of Gandalf is a prime illustration of Tolkien's writing method. In an Old Norse poem, Tolkien found a list of dwarf names which included "Gandalfr." Since alfr means "elf," he began to wonder what an elf was doing in a company of dwarfs. Tolkien interpreted the first element ("Gand") of "Gandalfr" to mean "wand." This gave Tolkien the notion that Gandalfr must be a sorcerer-elf who possessed a magic wand or staff. Gandalfr, he theorized, must have joined the band of dwarfs to obtain some special sort of magical plunder. Thus, a name in an old manuscript set Tolkien on the word association that eventually led to The Hobbit.

All the names of people, things and places come from real people, old languages, or languages that he made himself. He used Old Norse, Old English and Finnish, as well as making up several Elvish languages, Orcish and many others.

Here is a list of just a few words and their roots:

• Frodo: from Frodi, a Norse King.
• Sam Gamgee: Dr Sam Gamgee lived near Tolkien and invented a type of medical cotton wool.
• Gandalf: from Old Norse, it means elf with a staff.
• Aragorn: from Sindarin, an elvish language Tolkien made up, it means King-Tree.
• Sauron: from Old Norse, it means abominable.
• Saruman: from Old English, it means cunning man.
• Legolas: from Sindarin, it probably means green-leaf
• Galadriel: from Sindarin, meaning tree-daughter
• Mordor: from Old English, it means murder or mortal sin
• Theoden: King of Rohan, his name means King or Lord of Men
• Edoras: capital of Rohan, it means enclosures.
• Grima: he is a bit suspicious and his name means mask.