Warning! Spoilers for Rings of Power Season 2 ahead!
Sauron’s true identity is no longer much of a secret in The Lord of the Rings: the Rings of Power, but he still refuses to say his name. Through seasons 1 and 2, any time someone asked his name or guessed that he was Sauron, the villain would only say, “I have had many names.” He will easily use aliases such as Halbrand or Annatar, but he has yet to ever say the word “Sauron” in Rings of Power. This connects to Sauron’s character in The Lord of the Rings canon since author J.R.R. Tolkien specifically wrote the Dark Lord this way.
The final instance (so far) in which Sauron avoided saying his name was immediately after killing Celebrimbor in The Rings of Power season 2. The Elf, whom he had deceived into believing he was an emissary of the Valar named Annatar, had delivered some biting insults regarding Sauron’s doom. He told him that the Rings of Power he created to “heal” Middle-earth would be his undoing. These words hit Sauron so hard that he began to cry, which is when an Orc entered the room and said, “Are you him? Are you Sauron?” Almost automatically, Sauron again said, “I have had many names“—but why?
Sauron Hates His Name In Lord Of The Rings
Sauron Doesn’t Allow His Forces To Use This Name In Lord Of The Rings
Sauron refuses to say his name in Rings of Power because this is not a name he has ever approved of. The title was given to him by the Elves after he joined Morgoth and literally translates from the Quenya language to “the abhorred.” Since Sauron sees himself as a grand, powerful being who will heal Middle-earth and create a perfect and balanced world, the name given to him doesn’t quite fit. In The Lord of the Rings, Aragorn discusses this, saying that Sauron does not “use his right name, nor permit it to be spelled or spoken” among his forces. He hates being abhorred.
Sauron Prefers His Original Elvish Name (Though He Uses Many Aliases)
Mairon Is A Much More Flattering Name
The name Sauron is even more bitter to the Dark Lord because it was created as a sort of mockery of his first known name. This villain was originally a primordial spirit called a Maia and was considered beautiful, honest, and skillful. While living in Valinor among his fellow Ainur (demigods and angels who helped the god of Lord of the Rings create the universe), he was called Mairon, which is Quenya for “the admirable.” This name is right up Sauron’s alley since he wants to be recognized as Middle-earth’s spectacular lord and savior.
This name is right up Sauron’s alley since he wants to be recognized as Middle-earth’s spectacular lord and savior.
Of course, Sauron embraced many other names throughout his time in Middle-earth. “Annatar,” or “Lord of Gifts,” was a fitting title since he genuinely saw himself as giving the Elves of Eregion something valuable and spectacular. In Númenor, he called himself Zigûr, meaning “the sorcerer,” or Artano, which translates to “high smith.” Both these titles lean into his specific talents. Later, when his influence in the island kingdom was at its peak, he used the name Tar-Mairon, which combines his original Elvish name with the title given to a Númenórean ruler—basically calling himself “the adored king.”
Why Rings Of Power May Never Use Sauron’s Preferred Name
Sauron May Continue To Be Cryptic
Sauron continuously avoids using that name in Rings of Power, but he never demands that anyone call him Mairon. When his deceptive titles like Annatar fall away, he simply returns the tired old line, “I’ve had many names.” This will likely continue for the rest of the season since Prime Video may not have the rights to the name “Mairon.”Rings of Power has the standard TV rights to Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings books and The Hobbit only, which makes features of the Second Age a little more complicated to bring to the screen.
Prime Video plans to release five total seasons of Rings of Power .
It appears that Rings of Power has managed to negotiate with Tolkien’s estate to gain legal access to some names not mentioned in The Lord of the Rings or its Appendices, so the name Mairon may make its way into the series. However, Sauron refusing to give himself any true name, depending only on the titles given to his deceptive forms, is rather fitting. In Rings of Power, he struggles with Middle-earth’s perception of him since no one seems willing to accept him as a savior. The resulting identity crisis only leans into the fact that Sauron really needs to “heal” himself.
