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 Samwise Gamgee Samwise "Sam" Gamgee (later known as Samwise Gardner) is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. Samwise is one of the main characters of "The Lord of the Rings", in which he fills an archetypal role as the sidekick of the primary protagonist, Frodo Baggins. Sam is a member of the Fellowship of the Ring, which also includes Frodo Baggins, Merry Brandybuck, Pippin Took, Legolas Greenleaf, Gimli son of Gloin, Boromir, Aragorn son of Arathorn, and Gandalf. At the beginning of the story, Sam is Frodo's gardener, and is drawn into Frodo's adventure by Gandalf while