Meriadoc Brandybuck to be an actual phonetic transcription of the name in Tolkien's invented language of Westron, which Tolkien said he transliterated to English as follows: The nickname "Merry" represents his actual nickname "Kali" which meant "handsome, happy", and "Meriadoc" serves as a plausible name from which a nickname meaning "happy" could be derived. Alternately, "The Middle-Earth Encyclopedia" writes that Meriadoc means "joyful" or "cheerful," while Merry means "having high spirits." Théoden called Merry "Holdwine", and the Hobbit was thus known as such in the records of Rohan. It most probably derives from the Old English words "hold" and "wine", respectively meaning
Samwise Gamgee way admirable – except in his service and loyalty to his master." (letter to Mrs. Eileen Elgar in September 1963) In the appendices of "The Lord of the Rings", Tolkien says the "true" or Westron form of Sam's name is "Banazîr Galbasi" (also spelt "Galpsi"). As with "Samwise", "Banazîr" comes from elements meaning "halfwise" or "simple". "Galbasi" comes from the name of the village "Galabas". The name "Galabas" uses the elements "galab-", meaning "game", and "bas-", corresponding somewhat to "-wich" or "-wick". In his role as "translator" of the "Red Book of Westmarch", Tolkien devised a strict English translation, "Samwís