Galadriel had dwelt in Valinor in her youth, and long afterwards she settled in a valley east of the Misty Mountains in Middle-earth, in a land named Lórinand, the Valley of Gold. It was at that time that its name changed to Lórien - originally the name of the gardens in Valinor that were the dwelling-place of Irmo, the Vala of dreams. So, Lórien can be roughly translated as 'Dreamland'.
In time Galadriel's realm acquired a further name: Lothlórien. Loth is the Elvish word for 'flower' or 'blossom', and the Elves themselves translated this name as 'Lórien of the Blossom' (most likely in reference to the famous golden blossoms of its mallorn trees). When Treebeard interpreted the name, though, he used a more literal translation: for him, Lothlórien meant simply 'Dreamflower'.
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- Updated 1 March 2020
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