The meaning behind the name Éowyn and its Lord of the Rings connection as rare red warning storm set to batter Ireland

The Met Office has confirmed the fifth storm of 2024/2025 will be named Éowyn.

Rare red weather warnings covering Northern Ireland and Scotland were issued on Thursday before what could be the strongest storm in generations.

At the start of each new storm season, the Met Office, the Met Éireann and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) submit seven storm names each to form a list of 21.

More: Red weather warning forces schools closure in Northern Ireland as Storm Éowyn threatens ‘very dangerous conditions’

The practice of naming storms has been shown to raise awareness of major weather events and the preparations needed to stay safe.

Éowyn, pronounced ‘A-yo-win’ was among the Met Office’s submissions and likely derives from JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. In the books, Éowyn is the name of a noblewoman from the kingdom of Rohan.

Fans of the franchise will know that in The Return of the King, Éowyn reveals she is a woman when she fights and kills the Witch King of Angmar, fulfilling the Macbeth-like prophecy that he would not be killed by a man.

It is believed Tolkien invented the name by combining the words ‘eoh’ which means horse with ‘wyn’ meaning joy as in the series the people of Rohan are known as horse riders.

This isn’t the first time the Met Office has taken inspiration from Tolkien. In 2021/2022 their submissions included the name Arwen – the half-elf who marries Aragorn and is played by Liv Tyler in the films.