Farin

Working on the assumption that Farin remained with the rulers of his house (an assumption borne out by the fact that his descendants were seen among the followers of Thorin) then his people would have settled in various places throughout his life. Farin would have been born in a time when Durin's Folk inhabited the Grey Mountains. While he was still a youth, Thrór led his people back to Erebor, and thus Farin would have been counted one of the Dwarves of Erebor for most of his long life. He would have seen - and evidently escaped - the descent of Smaug on the Lonely Mountain. After the loss of Erebor, Thrór's son Thráin and his people wandered until they eventually settled in the Blue Mountains. Farin would have been more than two centuries old at that point, so he may not have made the journey westward himself. However, we know that all his grandsons followed their King, and so on balance it seems likely that Farin also made his way to the dwellings of his people among the Mountains.

Many of the Dwarf names used by Tolkien come from the Dvergatal, the list of Dwarves in the Old Norse Vóluspá, but the name Farin does not appear in that source. Its structure is clearly patterned after the names in the old list, but it is unclear whether it is intended to carry a particular meaning of its own. It might possibly be connected to the Old Norse far, meaning 'travel': Farin would certainly have travelled far in his life, but no more so than many other members of his clan.