Tolkien Translations

[Earendilyon]

Malva, I think Hüttinger means more something like "cottager", than "cotton"; it's more an equivalent of English "Cotman", see below.
JRRT wrote in his 'Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings about "cotton":

Cotton. This is a place-name in origin (as are many modern surnames), from cot, a cottage or humble dwelling, and -ton, the usual shortening of 'town' in place-names (Old English tūn 'village'). It should be translated in these terms.
It is a common English surname and has, of course, in origin no connection with cotton the textile material, though it is naturally associated with it at the present day. Hobbits are represented as using tobacco, and this is made more or less credible by the suggestion that the plant was brought over the Sea by the Men of Westernesse (I 18); but it is not intended that cotton should be supposed to be known or used at that time. Since it is highly improbable that in any other language a normal and frequent village name should in any way resemble the equivalent of cotton (the material), this resemblance in the original text may be passed over. It has no importance for the narrative, (...)
Cotman appears as a first name in the genealogies. It is an old word meaning 'cottager', 'cot-dweller', and is to be found in larger dictionaries. It is also a well-known English surname.

Guinevere, in the Guide quoted above, JRRT laid out his 'rules' for translating names from the LotR. He did this after the Swedish and Duitch translations had been published, and the translator in Germany was working on his translation of the LotR. Many names may be translated according to their meaning, especially from Hobbits and the Shire. In my ongoing translation of the LotR to Latin (see my thread in the Novices Forum and also my signature) I have translated so far names as Baggins, The Shire, Hobbiton.

My own mothertongue is Dutch, and I use the Dutch translation next to the original when translating to Latin, and some things are not translated very well. One example: "Old Gaffer Gamgee stopped even pretending to work in his garden." is translated thus: "De Oude Gewissies kwam zelfs kijken onder het voorwensel dat hij in zijn tuin werkte.", which is actually the opposite of the original: "Old Gaffer Gamgee even came to watch under the pretence that he worked in his garden."!
As said before: the original is always better; in translating so much is lost....