Most of the Hobbit families named by Tolkien have had their names anglicised from their original forms in the Shire (for example, the name 'Brandybuck' combines English elements to represent the family's original name of Brandagamba). The Tooks, though, are a rare example where the family name has changed only in spelling. The actual name of this family was Tûk (thought by them - somewhat questionably - to derive from a word meaning 'daring'). Given the fact that 'Took' actually exists as a modern English surname, Tolkien merely simplified the spelling, rather than attempting to translate the meaning.
For a genealogy of the Tûk family, see the entry for the modernised spelling of their family name, Took.
Notes
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The 'oo' sound here represents a long vowel (the equivalent of û in Tûk) as in 'boot' or 'tool'
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The interpretation of the name as 'daring' was given by members of the family itself, who claimed that the name had its origins an old word tūca with that meaning. It should be said that there is more than a little doubt over this suggested origin. In notes reproduced in volume XII of The History of Middle-earth, Tolkien calls the family's traditional etymology 'a wholly unfounded guess'.
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- Updated 23 December 2025
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