If you would like to create a Sindarin name (for either a person or a place) but don't know where to start, this lesson will take you all through the stages you need.

Names in Sindarin are compounds, which means they are made up of multiple parts, or elements (words). They can be made of two (most commonly), three (rarer but still several examples) or four (one example only) words.

Two element examples:
Elrond (El + Rond) 'Star dome'
Arwen (Ar- + Gwend) 'Noble maiden'
Glorfindel (Glaur + Findel) 'Golden hair'

Three element examples:
Arfeiniel (Ar- + Fain + -iel) 'Noble white lady'
Galadriel (Galad + Rî + -iel) 'Glittering crowned maiden'
Erchamion (Er + Cam + -ion) 'One handed man'

Four element example:
Nanduhirion (Nan + Dû + Sîr + -ion) 'Vale of dim streams'

With very few exceptions (such as Pelargir and Mindolluin) names for both people and places created from three elements are made from two nouns and a suffix. You can find all of the suffixes in Lesson 38.

As there is only one example of 4 elements being used in a name I suggest you stick to 2 or 3 for your own names

Unlike the rest of Sindarin, where adjectives always follow their nouns (e.g. Roch rosg = A brown horse) names follow English convention and usually place adjectives first (e.g. Mithrandir 'Grey pilgrim'). In cases where the result didn't fit Tolkien's aesthetic he would sometimes place adjectives second (e.g. Mablung 'Heavy hand'). This does give you some flexibility in combining names if you prefer one way round to the other.

Letter changes when combining words

Tolkien used mutations for - among other reasons - to make Sindarin more aesthetically pleasing. When he created names he employed similar rules; you can very rarely simply put two words together and not have to change them.

The following tables are a series of steps you need to go through to make sure your names match Tolkien's rules; go through them in the order they are listed.

Step One

If the first letter(s) of the second element is/are	Then they become
B	V if the first element ends in an R B remains if it follows anything else
C	G
CH	H
D	DH if the first element ends in a vowel or an L and a preceding vowel D remains after other consonants
G	Usually lost (don't bother with putting in a ' )
GR	R
GL	L
GW	W
H	CH if the first element ends in a vowel or after R
LH	L
M	V W if the first element ends in a LW or L
ND	NN if the first element ends in a vowel
P	B
R	If the first element contains AE/AI then the second R is lost (AER+R = AER) Can change to L if the first element ends in L
RH	R
S	H
T	D/TH N or D if the first element ends in an N
TH	F if the last letters of the first element are DH
(m)B	M/B
(n)D	N

Step Two

If the last letter(s) of the first word is/are	Then they become
B	PH if the second element starts with a S or H
CH	H
D	TH if the second word starts with a S or H
DH	Disappears before M, N TH if the second element starts with a H D if the second element starts with a C, G or GL Insert an A after the DH (i.e. DHA) if the first letter of the second element is F (e.g. Hadhafang)
G	CH if the second element starts with a S or H
LL	L if the second element starts with a consonant
LT	LL before a vowel or L L before B
MP	M if the second element starts with a B, D, L, T, R
N	DH if the second element starts with R apart from if the compound you are creating already contains a TH sound; if this occurs the final N remains, e.g. Aranrúth L if the second element starts with an L M if the second element starts with B or P
ND	N if the second element starts with a consonant apart from B, P, M M if the second element starts with B, P or M ND remains if the second element starts with R
OL	LA
S	SS if the second element starts with a vowel TH if the second element starts with L or R
SS	CH if the second element starts with W TH if the second element starts with R
ST	S if the second element starts with C, G or F TH if the second element starts with L or R

Step Three

If the first element of the compound contains	Then they become
AEA	AE
ARA	RA
AU	A (if the word originally had a long A) O (otherwise)

AU -> A/O?
The word Naur (fire) originally had a long 'A' during its development, 'nāro' (see this link for more details) which means when the word Naur is used as the first element in a compound the AU should change to an A.
The word Glaur (gold light/colour) never had a long 'A' in its development (see this link) which means when it is used as the first element in a compound the AU should change to an O.

To check whether the word you are using should change to an A or an O, search for it here and check the phonetic development section. If you see ā, you know you need to change the AU to an A.

Please note that regardless of the phonetic development AU only changes like this if it is the first element, hence Narwain = January (Naur + Gwain)
Aegnor = Fell-fire, Sharp-flame (Aeg + Naur)

Step Four

If the last element of the compound contains	Then it becomes
AU	O

Step Five

If the last letters of the second element are	Then they become
AW	OF
LL	L
LT	L
ND	NN/ND
NW	N
MP	M
RN	R
ST	S
TH	S if the first element of the compound already contains the sound TH, e.g. úthaes

Step Six

Finally, shorten your vowels.
â ê î ô û become a e í o ú
e.g.
Dúnadan (from Dûn + Adan)
Anglachel (from Ang + Lach + êl)
Nínui (from Nîn + -ui)