Thorin

Meaning of Thorin

Thorin emerges from the Old Norse nominative Þórinn, a diminutive linked to the god Þórr and therefore rooted in the semantic field of thunder and valor; scholars commonly gloss it as “daring one” or “thunder-brave,” concepts that mirror the Latin ideals of fortitudo and audacia. Propelled into modern consciousness by J. R. R. Tolkien—whose Thorin Oakenshield strides through The Hobbit with the self-possessed gravitas of a medieval rex—the name migrated from saga parchment to civil registry, its American popularity tracing a measured but audible crescendo: from single-digit births in the late 1960s to well over a hundred each year following the cinematic resurgence of Middle-earth in 2012. Although still positioned in the lower seven-hundreds of national rankings, its longitudinal data reveal a resilient, upward trajectory, suggesting that contemporary parents are captivated by its compact phonetics, mythic associations, and the promise of steadfast character—as compelling as a distant peal of tonitrus rolling across Nordic fjords. In current onomastic discourse, Thorin thus occupies an intriguing limen where Scandinavian thunder meets literary charisma.