Tintin Forums

It is probably a question asked many times on the Forum but I genuinely can't find the answer. Tintin is such an unusual name. Has it anything to do with the sound of a typewriter's keys being pounded since Tintin's occupation is a journalist?

That's a new theory I never heard before. Quite a good one in my opinion. The photo company Kodak took its name from the sound of a camera taking a picture (or so I've been told).

'Why is Tintin so called?'....this is indeed a mystery,which only Herge could have answered.So can anyone who knows French inform me if there's any French work like Tintin or anything similar to this word?mail me at mit_chowdhury2003@yahoo.com

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Has it anything to do with the sound of a typewriter's keys being pounded since Tintin's occupation is a journalist?
As labrador road 26 says, that’s a new idea, and as there isn’t a definite answer, you may have something there - Hergé was the only one who knew for sure, and he doesn’t seem to have given a reason.

You might want to check out a couple of threads about the name here and here for other chat about the subject.

labrador road 26
The photo company Kodak took its name from the sound of a camera taking a picture (or so I've been told).
A slight digression off topic here, but I think the story is interesting…

Actually the name was one of the first deliberate attempts to come up with a unique name to identify a specific product. It was created wholesale, rather than derived from an exisiting word, with the intention that it could only be used with reference to the product, not the use of the product, or to similar products from other manufacturers.

George Eastman wanted to make sure that his brand was protected, and definitely didn’t want people “kodaking” a picture on another make of camera, and sought to protect his investment. In the UK people “hoover” a carpet with any manner of vacuum cleaner, and folks in the US “xerox” a photocopy, even when it isn’t a Xerox machine, and this can ruin the value of a brand. Cellophane, Trampoline, Aspirin and even Heroin(!) were once trademarks which became lost because people used them for the type of product rather than the specific item.

As Eastman showed such foresight, I think the story about the noise of the click being the origin of the word (which has been widely speculated upon) is a myth, as that might be applicable to the process of photography generally, rather than his cameras specifically, and that wasn’t what he wanted.

I looked it up in a French dictionary and I found it meant: no way? Found that a bit strange.

i looked it up in a french dictionary and i found it meant: no way??????????????
Quite true. Or 'nothing', in the expression 'faire tintin'.

The 'frustrating' Tintin has been discussed and a reference given on
https://www.tintinologist.org/forums/index.php?action=search&loc=1&foru m=8&topic=1015&page=10134


(...) found that a bit strange.
Maybe there's no way into his 'unique world', if one keeps on using his full name as a password?

In Benoit Peeters book Tintin and the World of Herge it says on pg.14 Herge took up Totor again (one of his previous comics) and simply changed a few letters of his name and gave him a proffesion which conformed more with his new setting. He also added a distinct quiff ( "to make sure he would be recognized" Herge said later" )and a fox terrier called Snowy and finally as all should know Tintin first appered in Le Pitite Vingteime on January 10 1929 ;-) ( Tintin's birthday ).

As Huub Van Opstal wrote in his ESSAY HERGE (and as said before here in another topic) it is not a big mystery. Young children called Constatin, Justin, Martin, Valentin... (just each name ending on 'tin') were often called 'tintin' by their parents or direct family.

In Benoit Peeters book Tintin and the World of Herge it says on pg.14 Herge took up Totor again (one of his previous comics) and simply changed a few letters of his name

Well, that explains where 'Tintin' comes from but where does 'Totor' come from?

I think Huibrecht van Opstal hit the nail with his idea that Tintin stems from common boy's names like Martin, Justin, etc.

As for Totor, I've read somewhere that Hergé's younger brother Paul Remi was often called "Popaul" as a kid, and that was sometimes changed to "Totor" when they were playing.

Hergé has acknowledged that both Totor and Tintin were partially based on his younger brother's physical appearance (he had a quiff, etc.) - so why not also the name?