According to Tolkien's own comments on the matter, the meaning of the name miruvor was not fully known, with the word having originated from the language of the Valar during the Elder Days. Though not fully interpretable, it was said to derive in part from the element mirub, meaning 'wine'.

However, Tolkien actually seems to have derived the name from two Gothic words, *među and wōþeis, 'sweet mead' adapted into Elvish as miruvóre (quoted in Parma Eldalamberon, as referenced in The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion). The name is therefore etymologically linked, in a rather circuitous sense, to Meduseld, the 'mead-hall' of the Kings of Rohan in Edoras.