Lord of the Rings fans have just realised why Gandalf forgot his name after returning as white wizard

The Lord of the Rings is the kind of franchise where questions about the lore and narrative are constantly coming up, and fans are now just realising this detail about Gandalf.

Whether you’re a fan of the books or the films, if you remember back to The Two Towers, you’ll recall a scene where Gandalf appears before Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, who have been pursuing a band of Orcs who have Merry and Pippin captive.

At this point in The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf was presumed dead, so you can forgive the trio for being surprised at his re-appearance here.

However, it’s here that Gandalf expresses some confusion at being called by his name. Here is the quote from the movie:

“Gandalf? Yes... that was what they used to call me. Gandalf the Grey. That was my name. I am Gandalf the White.”

One thing to bear in mind is that Gandalf was not the wizard’s one and true name. He has been called different names depending on the region. For example, he’s called Mithrandir, Olórin, and Tharkûn at different times in the books. So Gandalf is just one of many names he’s given.

After he was killed after his battle with the Balrog in The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf explains that his spirit was sent “out of thought and time” and eventually sent back to complete his mission (that mission being to aid in the defeat of Sauron).

This is taken to mean that time passed differently for him. It was a matter of weeks for Middle-earth, but could have been years or decades for Gandalf.

If that’s the case, he’s probably not going to remember what basically amounts to a nickname that a certain group of people gave him. I mean, I don’t remember all the nicknames I had when I was in school.

And it’s not like he even forgets it altogether either. As soon as Aragorn calls him Gandalf, he has a small look of confusion, and then immediately starts remembering.

From this point on, he makes it pretty clear that he knows his name is Gandalf.