Even in translation, the choice matters. When Disney dubs Snow White into Croatian, Dopey becomes Glupko —a riskier, funnier, more direct name. When The Hobbit is translated, Thorin Oakenshield becomes Thorin Hrastovštit , preserving the compound gravitas of the original. To ask “What are the names of the dwarves?” is to ask a much deeper question: How do we understand the small, strong, hidden folk of our imagination?
Take the names from The Hobbit :
The answer lies in the suffixes, the consonants, and the ancient poems. An ime patuljka is a key to a character’s soul—whether that soul is grumpy, lucky, heroic, or simply sleepy. Next time you encounter a dwarf in a story, listen closely to their name. You will hear the hammer of the storyteller’s forge, striking the anvil of meaning. imena patuljaka
These are not random. They are lifted directly from the Völuspá (the Norse poem of creation), specifically the Dvergatal (the “Catalogue of Dwarves”). Tolkien understood that a dwarf’s name should sound like a hammer striking an anvil: short vowels, hard consonants (D, B, K, T), and guttural rolls (R, N). Even in translation, the choice matters
In the vast, echoing halls of pop culture mythology, few races are as instantly recognizable—yet as frequently oversimplified—as the dwarves. To the casual fan, they are the gruff, beer-swilling smiths with glorious beards and a short fuse. But for those who look closer, particularly at the Slavic linguistic and storytelling traditions, the very imena patuljaka (the names of the dwarves) unlock a rich subterranean world of meaning, morality, and magic. To ask “What are the names of the dwarves