The name "Faramir" has proved somewhat difficult to decode. (This
probably has more to do with my incompetence than anything else!) Tolkien
first invented the name "Faramir" in late April or early May of 1944. In
the initial two drafts of the relevant chapter (T2T, "Faramir"), the character
who became Faramir was Fanborn, son of Anborn. In the third draft ("The
War of the Ring" = HoME, VIII, p. 149) "Faramir" finally appears; the first
dated reference to the name is Letter, Nr. 66, from May 6th, 1944.
The name "Faramir" is with a high degree of probability
Elvish. In the second manuscript of the 4th draft for the chapter
"Faramir," the name-bearer himself says that his name is taken from the Elvish
tales of the First Age: "Indeed many of [our names] we still take from tales of
the old days: such as Mablung and Damrod, and mine own, and my father's
Denethor, and many others." Now, in point of fact, there is no "Faramir"
in the attested tales of the First Age, but no matter: the tales of that period
would remain in flux for all of Tolkien's life, and he could easily have added
such a person somewhere at will. Thus, we can rule out a link e.g. with
the first element in the Adunaic name "Pharazon" and concentrate on the Elvish
languages.
Denethor would seem to have picked the names "Boromir" and
"Faramir" to complement one another. The habit is common enough in
historical royal houses (e.g. the Hittite King Muwatallis II had two sons named
Urhi-Teshshub and Ulmi-Teshshub). Therefore, the form of the name of
Boromir, which is better understood (i.e. Tolkien explains it himself!), may
provide a hint as to the meaning of his brother's name. LotR, Appendix F,
I, "Of Men," n. 1, states that "Boromir" is a name of "mixed form," i.e. part
Quenya and part Sindarin. The name Boromir means "enduring or steadfast
jewel" and consists of elements derived from the Primitive Elvish roots BOR-,
"to endure, to be steadfast, to survive," and MIR-, "jewel." The "mixed
form" presumably explains why the initial consonant appears as "b" (as in
Sindarin; Quenyan derivations from this root have "v"), but the "m" of "mir" is
not lenited to "v" as would be expected in a Sindarin word. I.e. we have
as first element a Sindarin and as second a Quenyan form.
First, it seems certain that the "mir" in Faramir's name
also means "jewel." If Faramir's name be of "mixed form" as his
brother's, then the first element should be Sindarin. That leads us to
the Primitive Elvish root SPAR-, "to hunt, to pursue" which appears in Sindarin
as "far-". On the analogy of "Boromir" ("jewel that endures, enduring
jewel"), "Faramir" would then to mean something like "the jewel that
hunts, hunting jewel" or "the jewel that pursues, pursuing jewel." This
does not seem (at least not to me!) to yield a good or logical sense.
Taking the word "jewel" as the object of "to hunt," we get "hunts, pursues the
jewel." Taking "jewel" as subject, we get "the jewel hunts,
pursues." While the first might suit well a character engaged in seeking
a Silmaril, neither seems to provide a good semantic parallel to the meaning of
Boromir's name, "steadfast jewel."
So let us try a pure Quenyan etymology for the name.
The root PHAR-, "to reach, to go all the way, to suffice," appears in Quenya as
the verb "pharya-," meaning "to suffice," as the noun "faré," meaning
"sufficiency, plenitude," and as the adjective "farea," meaning "enough,
sufficient." My own knowledge of how Quenya works is pretty lamentable,
but I'm willing to guess that the "fara-" of Faramir's name can be traced to
this root to yield a meaning of "the jewel that goes all the way, is
sufficient, i.e. is full, totally rounded off, complete," "complete[d] jewel,"
with "complete" in the sense of "all finished off, perfect." That would
provide a good semantic parallel to "steadfast jewel" and an excellent name for
the captain of the Rangers of Ithilien.
So there's my best guess: "complete jewel." If anyone
knows a better meaning, please say so!
P.S. What makes this so very difficult is Tolkien's failure to update his
glossary of etymologies (published in "The Lost Road" = HoME, V, Pp.
379-448). Tolkien compiled the glossary in the mid-30's. According
to Christopher Tolkien, he "ma[d]e rather desultory entries in the
*etymologies* as new names emerged in *The Lord of the Rings*, [but] gave up
even this as the new work proceeded." The name "Boromir" was still
entered as it belonged to a fairly early phase of the LotR; but "Faramir"
belonged to the mid-40's and was not entered. Nor could I find it glossed
anywhere in HoME (though, obviously, one might search HoME more thoroughly than
I
did!).
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All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.
