#i do imagine that denethor and finduilas were conscious of the literal meaning and found it suitable for a son of finduilas

[anghraine]

I still come across the “Boromir means steadfast jewel while Faramir just means sufficient lmao” thing, and I still hate it! 99.9% of the time it’s just a way to bash Denethor while sidelining Finduilas. And it’s likely wrong etymologically (Fara is closer to fára, shore), but beyond that, it overshadows something that’s really interesting.

The thing is, it’s well-attested that Gondorians are usually named after previous major figures rather than for strict etymological meaning. Denethor, for instance, is very probably named for the previous Steward Denethor and not for meaning. Denethor I, it happens, had a son named Boromir, who became Ruling Steward in turn. It seems extremely probable that our Boromir was named for his asskicking ancestor Steward Boromir.

And Faramir? The last Faramir we know of wasn’t part of the House of the Stewards at all. He was the son of King Ondoher of the House of Anárion. Denethor and Finduilas gave their son the name of a royal prince of the line of Elendil. This in no way a slight to baby Faramir. In fact, it’s even more extraordinary than it seems!

The thing is, royalty in Gondor always used Quenya names. Every single member of the House of Anárion was named in Quenya—the language of royalty in Númenor’s earlier days. Some (but not all) of their Stewards also had Quenya names (Mardil, Vorondil, Pelendur). But after the line of kings failed, the Stewards switched to using non-Quenya (mainly Sindarin) names to indicate that they weren’t making any royal claims.

Until Faramir.

As far as Denethor and Finduilas are concerned, there are more or less charitable ways to read that. Maybe Finduilas had some inkling of foresight that the state of affairs in Gondor would change, idk. But regardless, Faramir’s name is one of enormous weight and prestige. And that’s completely lost in the fandom take on it.