Middle-earth’s greatest villain, Sauron, is the primary antagonist in Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, but the Dark Lord has several other names he goes by. Sauron is best known as the big bad of The Lord of the Rings where he sought after the One Ring that Frodo Baggins and the Fellowship wanted to destroy. Set thousands of years before Peter Jackson’s trilogy, The Rings of Power follows Sauron’s rise and how he forged the Great Rings.

In J.R.R. Tolkien’s source material, Sauron is one of the oldest beings in Middle-earth and went under different guises during the thousands of years he was alive. Using his powers as a Maia, Sauron was able to shape-shift which enabled him to deceive others and take on different names. His most famous name, Sauron, comes from the Elvish language Quenya, and translates to “the Abhorred”. Now, Rings of Power has begun to dive into some of his other identities, while also adding in some of its own invention.

What Was Sauron’s Name Before Rings Of Power?

Sauron Has Known Many Names

From the time that Sauron became known to the Elves as Morgoth’s lieutenant, he was known by that name. However, his original name when he was a Maia living in Valinor was Mairon, meaning “the Admirable.” Mairon was obsessed with order, which later became his motivation for wanting to control Middle-earth. He admired Melkor, who later became the first Dark Lord Morgoth because of his great power. Soon, Mairon became Morgoth’s most trusted servant, and he started to go by the names Sauron and Gorthaur, meaning dread in the Sindarin language.

What Names Sauron Uses In The Rings Of Power

Rings Of Power Has The Change To Explore Several Sauron Identities

The first name that Sauron takes in The Rings of Power season 1 is Halbrand. This is a new form invented by Prime Video to provide further nuance to the Dark Lord’s deception. Halbrand is a Man, and Sauron uses this form to pretend to be a long-lost king of the Southlands, which ultimately becomes Mordor.

Sauron appears in the form of Annatar in Rings of Power season 2, the Lord of Gifts. As Annatar, Sauron transforms himself into a fair form in an attempt to seduce the Elves. With Celebrimbor and the smiths, Annatar forges the Rings of Power and secretly creates the One Ring in the hope of controlling the Elves, Dwarves, and Men. In Rings of Power‘s version of events, Sauron makes Celebrimbor believe that Annatar is an emissary of the Valar, explaining how Sauron deceives the Elf twice.

In Rings of Power ‘s version of events, Sauron makes Celebrimbor believe that Annatar is an emissary of the Valar, explaining how Sauron deceives the Elf twice.

Eventually, Sauron will surrender to the Númenóreans in some form or another, using his cunning to quickly become an adviser to the King, Ar-Pharazôn. On Númenor, Sauron is known as Zigûr, meaning sorcerer, and he uses his position to convert many Númenóreans to the darkness. The Rings of Power is likely to show Sauron corrupt the King of Númenor and convince him to attack Valinor, which ends with Númenor being destroyed in the Second Age and the death of Sauron’s physical form, though his spirit survives which leads to the events of The Lord of the Rings.