The amilessi tercenyë, or mother-names of insight, had a high position, and in general use sometimes replaced, both within the family and without, the father-name and chosen name, though the father-name (and the chosen among those of the Eldar that had the custom of the essecilmë) remained ever after the true or primary name, and a necessary part of any ‘full title’. The ‘names of insight’ were more often given in the early days of the Eldar, and in that time they came more readily into public use, because it was then still the custom for the father-name of a son to be a modification of the father’s name (as Finwë / Curufinwë) or a patronymic (as Finwion ‘son of Finwë’). The father-name of a daughter would likewise often be derived from the name of the mother.
Renowned examples of these things are found in the early histories. Thus Finwë, first lord of the Noldor, first named his eldest son Finwion; but later when his talent was revealed this was modified to Curufinwë. But the name of insight which his mother Míriel gave to him in the hour of birth was Fëanáro ‘Spirit of Fire’;* and by this name he became known to all, and he is so called in all the histories. (It is said that he also took this name as his chosen name, in honour of his mother, whom he never saw.) Elwë, lord of the Teleri, became widely known by the anessë or given name Sindicollo ‘Greycloak’, and hence later, in the changed form of the Sindarin tongue, he was called Elu Thingol. Thingol indeed was the name most used for him by others, though Elu or Elu-thingol remained his right title in his own realm.
*Though the form Fëanor, which is more often used, was a blend of Q Fëanáro and S Faenor.
