Tolkien Family

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"...It is a long tale..." — Aragorn
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The Tolkien Family is a family of Saxon descent, arriving in England six generations before J.R.R. Tolkien.

Etymology[edit | edit source]

The name “Tolkien” (pron.: Tol-keen; equal stress on both syllables) is believed to be of German origin; Toll-kühn: foolishly brave, or stupidly clever; a cognate in Modern English would be "dull-keen".[1]

Tolkien tranlated his name in Gothic as Ruginwaldus Dwalakōneis[2] and in Old English as Rægnold Hrædmóding[3] (hræd-mód "hasty, quick tempered"). One time he signed a poem under the pseudonym Oxymore (oxymoron being greek for "sharp-dull", "keen-stupid"). He also created the character Professor Rashbold, loosely translating the meaning of his surname.[4][5] He possibly translated it in Quenya as Arcastar.

Research conducted by Ryszard Derdziński suggests another etymology of the Tolkien family name, deriving it from Baltic Tolk-īn, "a descendant of Tolk", tolk being a Baltic term for "translator, interpreter".[6] Tolkien himself had always been dismissive of this connection.[7]

Origins[edit | edit source]

Research conducted by Ryszard Derdziński shows that the Tolkien family actually had its roots in Gdańsk (German form Danzig) in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and earlier in Kreuzburg, East Prussia, but had been living in England since 1770.[8] The Tolkien name is attested there since the 16th century.

The verified paternal line of J. R. R. Tolkien starts with Michel Tolkien, who was born around 1620 in Kreuzburg. Michel's son Christianus Tolkien (1663-1746) was a wealthy miller in Kreuzburg. His son Christian Tolkien (1706-1791) moved from Kreuzburg to nearby Danzig, and his two sons Daniel Gottlieb Tolkien (1747-1813) and Johann (later known as John) Benjamin Tolkien (1752-1819) emigrated to London in the 1770s, and became the ancestors of the English family. The family first appears in English records in 1777. In 1792 John Benjamin Tolkien and William Gravell took over the Erdley Norton manufacture in London, which from then on sold clocks and watches under the name Gravell & Tolkien. Daniel Gottlieb obtained British citizenship in 1794, but John Benjamin apparently never became a British citizen. Their German nephew Daniel Gottlieb Bergmann also joined them in London. Johann (John) Benjamin Tolkien, who died in London in 1819, had a son named George Tolkien, who was the grandfather of Arthur Tolkien, J. R. R. Tolkien's own father.


Genealogy[edit | edit source]

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
John Suffield Jr
1833-1930
 
Emily Jane Sparrow
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
John Benjamin Tolkien
1807-1896
 
Mary Jane Stowe
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Walter Incledon
 
Edith Mary (May) Suffield
1865-1936
 
Jane Suffield
1872-1963
 
William Suffield
1874-1904
 
Beatrice Bartlett
 
Mabel Suffield
1870-1904
 
Arthur Reuel Tolkien
1857-1896
 
Florence Mary Tolkien
1863-1944
 
Tom Hadley
 
Grace Bindley Tolkien
1861-1947
 
William Mountain
 
Mabel Tolkien
1858-1937
 
Thomas Mitton
 
Wilfred Tolkien
1870-1938
 
Laurence George H. Tolkien
1873-
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Marjorie Incledon
1891-1973
 
Mary Incledon
1895-1940
 
 
 
 
 
 
Edith Bratt
1889-1971
 
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
1892-1973
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Hilary Arthur Reuel Tolkien
1894-1976
 
Magdalen Matthews
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
John Francis Reuel Tolkien
1917-2003
 
 
 
Joan Griffiths
1916-1982
 
Michael Hilary Reuel Tolkien
1920-1984
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Faith Faulconbridge
1928-2017
 
Christopher John Reuel Tolkien
1924-2020
 
Baillie Klass
1941-
 
Priscilla Anne Reuel Tolkien
1929-2022
 
 
Lilian June Icke
 
Gabriel Tolkien
1931-
 
 
 
 
 
Julian Tolkien
1935-
 
Glynis Read
 
Paul Tolkien
1938-
 
Annie May McConnell
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Michael Tolkien
1943-
 
 
 
 
 
Hugh Baker
 
Joanna Tolkien
1945-2023
 
Judith Tolkien
1951-
 
Alan Crombleholme
 
Tracy Sternberg
 
Simon Tolkien
1959-
 
Adam Reuel Tolkien
1969-
 
Rachel Clare Reuel Tolkien
1971-
 
 
 
Angela Tolkien
1954-
 
Christopher Tolkien
1961-
 
Susan Goodger
 
Timothy Tolkien
1962-
 
Nicholas Tolkien
1964-
 
Stephen Tolkien
1966-
 
Dominic Tolkien
1974-
 
Zoë Tolkien
1977-
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Catherine Tolkien
1969-
 
Ruth Tolkien
1982-
 
Mandy
1967-
 
Royd
1969-
 
Michael
1975-2015
 
Freya Crombleholme
1976-
 
Piers Crombleholme
1979-
 
Nicholas Tolkien
1990-
Anna Tolkien
2005-
 
Dimitri Tolkien-Paillet
2005-
 
Samuel
2006-
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

See also[edit | edit source]

References