The first name J.R.R. Tolkien gave the character who became Strider was Trotter.
Tolkien’s drafts for The Lord of the Rings changed substantially as he developed the character and the plot. In early versions, the mysterious traveler was called Trotter. Tolkien later considered other names and eventually established him as Aragorn, son of Arathorn, the exiled heir of Isildur.
The surviving manuscripts show that the character’s identity and background evolved during composition. “Trotter” was not merely an alternate spelling of Aragorn’s final name; it belonged to an earlier conception of the character. Tolkien’s narrative revisions transformed the figure from a more unusual wandering companion into the ranger and king familiar from the published novel.
Aragorn’s other names, including Strider, Thorongil, and Elessar, belong to the developed story. Trotter is therefore a fact from Tolkien’s writing history rather than a name used by the finished novel’s characters.