J.R.R. Tolkien gives Rivendell the Sindarin name Imladris.
Rivendell is the Common Speech name for the hidden Elven refuge founded by Elrond. The settlement lies in a valley east of the Misty Mountains, near the Ford of Bruinen. In Tolkien’s histories, Elrond established it in the Second Age after the fall of Eregion.
The name Imladris is generally explained from Sindarin elements associated with a deep cleft or ravine. This reflects the settlement’s physical setting: it is sheltered in a steep valley rather than standing on an open plain. Tolkien’s place-names often encode geography, history, or both.
Imladris is sometimes confused with Lothlórien, another Elven realm. Lothlórien is the woodland kingdom associated with Galadriel and Celeborn, while Rivendell is Elrond’s refuge. Erebor is the Lonely Mountain, and Minas Tirith is the great city of Gondor.