Gandalf's real name is Olorin. That is his name as a maia, and that was the name he first had, so that is his 'real' name. Saruman's is Curunír, for the same reason

Exactly. While it isn't any magical power Sauron holds over him, he still has his name which could have taken him straight to Mr.Baggins.

_________________


"Fight Tonight For Metal One And All".
http://www.arwen-undomiel.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7521

Gandalf means "staff Elf." This name was given to him by Men in reference to the staff he carried and the mistaken belief that he was one of the Elves. The word gandr means "staff" especially one used for magic.

Gandalf the White:
When Gandalf was sent back to Middle-earth after his fight with the Balrog, he was clad in white. He replaced the traitorous Saruman -- who had forsaken white for robes of many colors -- as the head of the order of Wizards.

Olorin was the name by which Gandalf was known as a Maia spirit in Aman. It is High-Elven from olor or olos meaning "vision, phantasy, construction of the mind."

Grey Messenger
When Gandalf arrived in Middle-earth he was referred to as the Grey Messenger because he was a messenger of the Valar and was clad in grey.

Mithrandir was the name given to Gandalf by the Elves. It means "Grey Wanderer" or "Grey Pilgrim" and refers to his color and his travels across Middle-earth.

Tharkun was the name by which Gandalf was known among the Dwarves. It was said to mean "staff man."

Gandalf was called Incanus by the peoples of the South. The origin of this name is not certain. A note in the Thain's Book indicates that it was a Quenya adaptation of a Haradrim word meaning "North spy." However, Incanus may have been a purely Quenya name given to him by the Men of Gondor meaning "mind ruler." The word in or id means "mind"; kan means "ruler" and cáno or cánu means "ruler, governor, chieftain."

Greyhame means "greycoat" from the Old English grég or graég meaning "grey" and hama meaning "covering, garment." This is a reference to Gandalf's grey robes.

Gandalf was first called the White Rider by Aragorn in contrast to Sauron's Black Riders.

King Theoden of Rohan called him Gandalf Stormcrow while under the spell of Grima Wormtongue.

Grima Wormtongue called Gandalf Lathspell, meaning "ill news."

Gandalf was referred to as the Grey Fool by Denethor, Steward of Gondor.

we mustn't forget Gandalf the fool given to him by saruman in WOTR

_________________

i argree there is lots of names 4 gandalf

_________________
<center>:explode:


</center>

Meldawen missed out Icanus which unless Im mistaken was a name given to him by the haradrim from debased quenya meaning North Spy. Also Gandalf means Elf of the Staff and mithrandir means grey Pilgrim

_________________
"This is the hour of the Shire-folk, when they arise from their quiet fields to shake the towers and counsels of the Great. Who of all the Wise could have foreseen it? Or, if they are wise, why should they expect to know it, until the hour has struck? "

Tis good to see an old english scholar in Faithless, I am most proud lol

_________________
"This is the hour of the Shire-folk, when they arise from their quiet fields to shake the towers and counsels of the Great. Who of all the Wise could have foreseen it? Or, if they are wise, why should they expect to know it, until the hour has struck? "

Staff-elf is Gandalf's name when it's directly translated, but according to a book I have about Lord of the Rings, it'd be more accurate to translate it as 'Elf of the Wand.' So, Staff-elf might be the direct translation, but the 'meaning' is really 'Elf of the Wand.'

_________________

What i would like to know is why Gandla fhas so many names. No other character has so many, so although Gandalf is powerful and known by all races, why does he have so many names?

My guess would be because different races have a different way of pronoucing his name or naming him for what he is e.g. Gandalf the white means not only is he Saurmans Successor, but that he is the White wizard, the most powerful wizard etc. so why are there so many other names for him and not that many for other Characters. I only know of Aragorn to be the character with another name [strider] only because of his actions and the fact there are few who know of him in The Prancing Pony...

_________________
<center><font size="0">'Before you came along we bagginses were <i>very</i> well thought of...never had any adventures or did anything unexpected!''</font></br><a href="http://www.frodoforever.com/"><img src="http://www.hufflepuffpride.com/frodo/claim2.gif" border="0" width="200" height="120"></a>

@ Faitless, thanks so much for your post. It clears up many things in my head

@ Frodos-Guide: When I read your first question, one thing pops up... Treebeard had so many names, it would take a lifetime to say (that's probably a bit overrated, but you get the point, right?). The reason for that was that Treebeard was very old, and his name told the story of his life. Now I think, because Gandalf is also very old, and appeared in many different ways in his past, the names all suit him in a different way. Sometimes he wandered among the elves, looking as one of them, or sometimes not visible at all.. It's reasonable he got many names because of this.

_________________

Oh! Thanks very much! Lol i'd forgotten about Treebeard...thanks!

_________________
<center><font size="0">'Before you came along we bagginses were <i>very</i> well thought of...never had any adventures or did anything unexpected!''</font></br><a href="http://www.frodoforever.com/"><img src="http://www.hufflepuffpride.com/frodo/claim2.gif" border="0" width="200" height="120"></a>

wow the only one I could remember (apart from Gandalf the grey/white) was Mithrandir. Good job guys ^_^ I think my favorite is Mithrandir. Though Gandalf has this certain ring to it.

_________________
<center>

_________________

Wow that's impressive!

_________________

Yeah it is, I have the memory of a gold-fish. I'm going to memorise all of them now hehe.

_________________
<center>

What i'm confused about, is the reason WHY Gandlaf is given so many names. What is thge purpose of naming him so many times? I don't understand why it is only he with multiple names.

_________________
<center><font size="0">'Before you came along we bagginses were <i>very</i> well thought of...never had any adventures or did anything unexpected!''</font></br><a href="http://www.frodoforever.com/"><img src="http://www.hufflepuffpride.com/frodo/claim2.gif" border="0" width="200" height="120"></a>