Charting the Shire lines - Page 7
© Michael Martinez
The Boffin family is another indication of Hobbit martial traditions. Only they didn't have such traditions. At least, Tolkien says they were never warlike, and only fought to defend themselves. The name refers to a scientist or researcher who engages in military research. Although this could be one of Tolkien's little linguistic jokes, if we take it literally we may infer that this family, at least, was descended of one or more hobbits who rose to prominence in studying the ways of war, a not particularly useful skill during the migration period.
Of course, the study of family names quickly breaks down. The Brandybucks, for example, are descendants of the Oldbucks, who in turn are descendants from Bucca of the Marish, the first Thain of the Shire (elected in 1979). Sam Gamgee's descendants include Fairbairns, Gardners, and Gamgees, but he himself is a descendant of Ropers. Families had a tendency to change their names when their stations in life changed. Hob Hayward, for example, probably came from a family which tended the High Hay in the Buckland, but that probably wasn't their original name.
Some of the wealthier families seem to have adopted names for particular traits, such as the Whitfoots ("white foot"), Proudfoots, and Bolgers. Some families may have become known for commodities in which they traded, such as the Chubbs (a chubbe is a fish with a bloated appearance) and Sackville (as in "Sackville-Baggins", "sackville" means "dweller at the dry-built farm" according to one source, although Tom Shippey feels it is a joke about cul-de-sacs).
The naming conventions of Hobbit families thus depict their lifestyles or descent, or their professions or locations, as many surnames do, and they don't help much in placing who settled where when.
What seems most likely, however, is that after Marco and Blanco established the first colony (probably Michel Delving) they began enticing other families to cross the Brandywine and settle in various regions. They might not all have settled in the hill-lands out of preference. The Southfarthing, for example, with its plantations and wealthy farmers, seems to have been perfectly suited for large family farms which would eventually grow into the plantations. The inhabitants were most likely Harfoots with little Fallohidish blood.
The Fallohide families would have been drawn to the Green Hills and woods leading down to the Marish, as well as the woods in the Northfarthing. The northern lands were probably settled last, however. After the White Downs and Far Downs had been colonized, the Hobbits would have "backed up", as it were, and spread eastward. Hence, the Tooks probably came in a later wave than the first settlers, and they may represent a smaller migration. The Stoors were left with the Marish in the southern part of the Eastfarthing.
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