What is Merry Brandybuck's full first name?

Merry Brandybuck’s full first name is Meriadoc. He is usually called “Merry,” but Meriadoc is his formal name in the Shire and the name used in Tolkien’s character histories.

Meriadoc is the son of Saradoc Brandybuck and Esmeralda Took, making him related to both Frodo Baggins and Pippin Took. He is one of Frodo’s closest friends and helps organize the secret plan to leave the Shire alongside Sam, Pippin, and Fredegar Bolger.

The name has a Celtic or Brittonic flavor, fitting Tolkien’s description of names from Buckland and Bree. Tolkien also presented a deeper linguistic detail: Merry’s original Westron name was Kalimac Brandagamba, while “Meriadoc” is the translated form readers encounter.

Merry is not the same person as Peregrin Took, whose nickname is Pippin, or Folco Boffin, another Hobbit associated with the Shire. After the War of the Ring, Meriadoc becomes Master of Buckland and a historian of the Shire.