# I just met Thorin Oakenshield, believe it or not **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 19, 2007, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-met-thorin-oakenshield-believe-it-or-not/419743 "2007-09-19T14:42:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2007, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-met-thorin-oakenshield-believe-it-or-not/419743/21 "2007-09-19T18:35:04Z")
[QUOTE=Hypno-Toad] What does Rayden mean in Japanese? [/QUOTE] It’s a take on [Raijin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raijin), god of thunder. According to my wife Raijin is not really seen as benevloent and is really not the kind of thing you would/should name a kid. And I see **John Mace** beat me to it 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Sweetums](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Sweetums](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sweetums)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2007, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-met-thorin-oakenshield-believe-it-or-not/419743/22 "2007-09-19T18:43:30Z")
I dated an Arwen years ago. I have since been surprised to find out how many of them there actually are out there. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2007, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-met-thorin-oakenshield-believe-it-or-not/419743/23 "2007-09-19T18:47:25Z")
I don’t get it. If he’s so embarrassed by his middle name, why doesn’t he leave the initial off his nametag? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2007, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-met-thorin-oakenshield-believe-it-or-not/419743/24 "2007-09-19T18:48:43Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] I went to a political fundraiser last night and was introduced to a 30-year-old man whose nametag read “Thorin O. [Common lastname].” I said, “Your middle name isn’t by any chance ‘Oakenshield,’ is it?” He smiled - **a little wearily** - and said that it was. [/QUOTE] (Bolding mine) I’m surprised he would put his middle initial on his name tag. ETA: Great minds, **Manduck**. ---
**Author:** ![Gulo\_gulo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bcef8e/32.png) [@Gulo\_gulo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gulo_gulo)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2007, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-met-thorin-oakenshield-believe-it-or-not/419743/25 "2007-09-19T18:53:29Z")
There is an older man at my local tire centre named “Gawain”. I had “The Mists of Avalon” in my hand while talking to him, looked at his nametag, then did a doubletake. I refrained from commenting. I know of an Arwen who’s three years old (friend of a friend’s daughter.) My job also exposes me to a lot of names and I recently came across a “Strider” and a “Taz” as given names. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2007, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-met-thorin-oakenshield-believe-it-or-not/419743/26 "2007-09-19T18:53:47Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] I knew a girl called Lórien, after Tolkien’s forest. Lovely name, I think. That would have been first-time-around hippy-type Tolkien geekery, as she’d have been born in 1968. [/QUOTE] I knew a _guy_ named Lorien, born in 1967. Mom = hippy, not surprisingly. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2007, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-met-thorin-oakenshield-believe-it-or-not/419743/27 "2007-09-19T18:55:01Z")
[QUOTE=Pochacco] My wife once knew a woman whose parents were big Star Trek fans. The named her “Trelane”. Didn’t even get the gender right! [/QUOTE] Continuing in the Trek universe, friends of our named their daughter Jadzia. It _is_ a pretty name. They were considering Dax for a boy. “That’s a strong name,” said the dad. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2007, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-met-thorin-oakenshield-believe-it-or-not/419743/28 "2007-09-19T18:59:26Z")
There was a guy in my high school class whose middle name is Mithrandir. I was a little bit jealous. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2007, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-met-thorin-oakenshield-believe-it-or-not/419743/29 "2007-09-19T19:00:30Z")
I had a professor who named her daughter Arwen. I’m not surprised there’s a lot of them out there, it’s a pretty name that doesn’t sound too far out there. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2007, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-met-thorin-oakenshield-believe-it-or-not/419743/30 "2007-09-19T19:07:55Z")
[QUOTE=whiterabbit] I had a professor who named her daughter Arwen. I’m not surprised there’s a lot of them out there, it’s a pretty name that doesn’t sound too far out there. [/QUOTE] I agree. “Arwen” sounds almost normal, whereas Tinuviel is, shall we say, a bit odd sounding. Thorin Oakenshield, even with “O” as a middle name is downright cruel. Name your dog that if you must, but not your kid. Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![mlerose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@mlerose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlerose)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2007, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-met-thorin-oakenshield-believe-it-or-not/419743/31 "2007-09-19T19:08:39Z")
I went to high school with a girl named Evenstar, and have met a few Loriens. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2007, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-met-thorin-oakenshield-believe-it-or-not/419743/32 "2007-09-19T19:38:49Z")
[QUOTE=Manduck] I don’t get it. If he’s so embarrassed by his middle name, why doesn’t he leave the initial off his nametag? 😕 [/QUOTE] I wondered that, too. It’s possible he didn’t write it himself - it was one of those sticky-backed nametags that say “Hello, my name is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_.” If he wrote it himself, it might have been because the Tolkienesque connection so often goes over people’s heads that he’s not constantly on guard against it. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2007, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-met-thorin-oakenshield-believe-it-or-not/419743/33 "2007-09-19T19:40:35Z")
[QUOTE=Manduck] I don’t get it. If he’s so embarrassed by his middle name, why doesn’t he leave the initial off his nametag? 😕 [/QUOTE] He’s not. I mean, he has to play it off like “\…_yes_, the ‘O’ _does_ stand for '‘Oakenshield’…it’s ever so bothersome”, but if he didn’t secretly dig it, the “O” wouldn’t be on the name tag. ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2007, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-met-thorin-oakenshield-believe-it-or-not/419743/34 "2007-09-19T19:41:37Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] I agree. “Arwen” sounds almost normal, whereas Tinuviel is, shall we say, a bit odd sounding. Thorin Oakenshield, even with “O” as a middle name is downright cruel. Name your dog that if you must, but not your kid. Sheesh. [/QUOTE] I think Thorin would be pretty cool as a name (not too far off from some names that are popular in the family), but Oakenshield is taking it a bit too far. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2007, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-met-thorin-oakenshield-believe-it-or-not/419743/35 "2007-09-19T19:44:03Z")
**elfbabe** is happy she didn’t end up getting named _Idril Celebrindal_. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2007, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-met-thorin-oakenshield-believe-it-or-not/419743/36 "2007-09-19T19:46:27Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] **elfbabe** is happy she didn’t end up getting named _Idril Celebrindal_. [/QUOTE] Wasn’t she the daughter of Celebrex? ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2007, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-met-thorin-oakenshield-believe-it-or-not/419743/37 "2007-09-19T19:47:11Z")
[QUOTE=Typo Knig] Continuing in the Trek universe, friends of our named their daughter Jadzia. It _is_ a pretty name. They were considering Dax for a boy. “That’s a strong name,” said the dad. [/QUOTE] Still continuing the Trek theme, a friend in college had a girlfriend named Tepring. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-met-thorin-oakenshield-believe-it-or-not/419743/38 "2007-09-19T19:49:01Z")
[Bill Cosby] My father confused me. From the ages of one to seven, I thought my name was Jesus Christ![/BC] ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2007, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-met-thorin-oakenshield-believe-it-or-not/419743/39 "2007-09-19T19:57:26Z")
[QUOTE=Scuba\_Ben] Still continuing the Trek theme, a friend in college had a girlfriend named Tepring. [/QUOTE] Purposefully misspelled from “T’Pring”? (Also the name of a British pop group, a one-hit wonder for “Heart and Soul”). ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2007, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-met-thorin-oakenshield-believe-it-or-not/419743/40 "2007-09-19T20:02:05Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] Purposefully misspelled from “T’Pring”? (Also the name of a British pop group, a one-hit wonder for “Heart and Soul”). [/QUOTE] Wasn’t it T’Pau that made “Heart and Soul?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-met-thorin-oakenshield-believe-it-or-not/419743.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-met-thorin-oakenshield-believe-it-or-not/419743.md?page=3)