The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Company names inspired by Tolkien

This is an (incomplete) list of companies inspired by Tolkien's Legendarium. Some are fun, some odd, and a few downright evil. 

Companies that were

Gandalf Airlines (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) 

Yes, they would have the answer to the perennial question Why didn't they fly to Mordor? Well, they went broke a few years after their foundation would have been my answer but then this Italian airline even flew into Germany. I could have flown with Gandalf, damn it!

Middle-earth Furniture

You already have an article (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) on this one :)

Rohan Nutrition (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) 

Yes, things for the horsies. This Argentinian product seems to have been available for a couple of years, until rather recently.

Steinberg & Tolkien

Now, this used to be one of the most well-known vintage fashion stores (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) in London, world-famously so. And the reason for the name is very much Tolkien - Tracy Tolkien, to be exact, wife of Simon Tolkien (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre).

Iron Crown Enterprises (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) 

The name surely is a give-away: ICE used to be one of the most innovative and successful roleplaying and trading card game inventors. Well, it still is because the company is still there but they used to be very much Tolkienian. MERP and MECCG were amazing games, no doubt, and if you ask people knowledgeable how and why they were 'forced' (?) into bankruptcy around 2000 - there were films coming out, what a coincidence - we might never quite truly know (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre).

MERP: Middle-earth Roleplaying Game (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre).

MECCG: Middle-earth Collectible Card Game (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre).
Nota bene: Fans are still playing the game as LURE (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre).

Companies that are

Quite a few of the companies you will find in this Patreon post of mine (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) - as official licensees - have Tolkien-inspired names. Middle-earth Honey, Water & Wine or the Rivendell Bicycle Works obviously took the names to better sell their products. My  favourite is the longest-standing owner of a Tolkien license (afaik!), Mithril Miniatures (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) - made of metal, just like the Dwarves were working with mithril!

I would like to mention one company that has seriously floored me with their product.: ORCRIST OVERDRIVE. Yes, you can also get ASLAN GOOD OVERDRIVE. Wrought Iron Leather and Effects (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) do guitar & bass effects pedals and all fantasy is metal, right? 

Orcrist Overdrive (c) Wrought Iron Leather and Effects

J.R. Tolkien & Loth Loriën (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) 

Now, this is a bit of a cheat because the company's name is Van der Rest Sail Charter but their two ships certainly are Tolkien-inspired. Rumours have it the bungled naming is due to the trademark issues and because the company did not want to pay a license fee - but those are only rumours, of course. If I ever have too much money to spend I'll certainly invite 31 friends to spend a weekend or so, maybe travel over from Hamburg to Bournemouth!

J.R. Tolkien & Loth Loriën (c) Van der Rest Sail Charter

Frodo's Pizza (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) 

Yes, the name is trademarked, yes, it is official. Why not Pippin & Merry's Pizza? I don't know. Go to South Carolina, find out and let me know :)

The Paypal Mafia - and worse (?)

If you have never heard of the Paypal Mafia let me tell you that there is something like a 100% chance they have touched your life in some way or other. Basically, founders and/ or employees of PayPal like Elon Musk (Tesla), Reid Hoffmann (LinkedIn), Russell Simmons (Yelp), Jawed Karim (Youtube) have co-founded and/or financed some of the most influential tech companies of our times. 

And Peter Thiel.

He has founded Palantir Technologies, on several 'most evil companies on the planet' lists always with the Top 5 (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre), and the Seeing Stones become the spectres of permanent surveillance as Sauron used them. For a full list of these companies see: The hidden logic of Peter Thiel’s “Lord of the Rings”-inspired company names (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre). 

One of the most recent additions to Tolkien-inspired names is Narya Capital by J D Vance (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre), a venture capitalist Republican, supported by Peter Thiel, Eric Schmidt (former Google/Alphabet CEO) and Marc Andreessen (wrote MOSAIC and co-founded Netscape.)

So, if you are into tech in the US - often a billionaire - there is a certain chance you will be a danger to freedom and democracy everywhere - and love The Lord of the Rings.

Honorary Mentions

Rohan (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) 

In 1972 Rohan was founded by Paul and Sarah Howcroft and was born in Skipton, North Yorkshire, UK and have been making world class technical clothing for over forty-five years. 

I would simply call it outdoor fashion and accessoires but then who am I to judge? Rohan would lend itself, of course, you know, with nature and all but the most famous claim to faim?

Messner and Haberer wore the WINDLORD GWALHIR JACKET for their first ascent without oxygen to the Everest.

Possibly a Tolkien link but rather tenous. Possibly just a joke ;)

Windlord Gwalhir Jacket, worn by Messner, Haberer 1978 (c) Rohan 

Bree (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) 

Fashionable bags and such, has fallen victim to the pandemic (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre). Founded in Hannover in 1970. 

No Tolkien link - the founder's name is Wolf Peter Bree.

Additional work to be done

SirionLabs

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This post was originally published (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) on April 30th, 2021.
It has been made public for my move to Steady.