Name of the magical boundary that Melian placed around Doriath, translated “Girdle of Melian” (WJ/228). This name is combination of her name with the otherwise unattested noun lest “girdle”.
Conceptual Development: This name was first written as List Melian (WJ/228).
The Maia who married Thingol and ruled Doriath with him (S/55-6), her name was translated “Dear Gift”, a combination of mell “dear” and ann “gift”, or more accurately derived from the ancient form ✶Melyanna (SA/anna, mel).
Conceptual Development: In the earliest Lost Tales, her name was given as G. Gwedheling along with numerous variations (LT2/50), but in later revisions was changed to G. Melian (LT2/51), the form of her name in the Lays of Beleriand from the 1920s (LB/12). Her name remained Melian in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (SM/13, LR/220), though at this stage her name was likely Ilkorin like that of her husband, Ilk. Thingol.