The original Elves

[Legolas]

Voronwe is right, of course.

The names of the six elves are given, actually: Imin and Iminye, Tata and Tatie, Enel and Enelye. These mean one, two, and three (given in both masculine and feminine).

The three males awoke before their spouses, and are known as the Elf-fathers.

According to the legend, preserved in almost identical form among both the Elves of Aman and the Sindar, the Three Clans were in the beginning derived from the three Elf-fathers: Imin, Tata, and Enel (sc. One, Two, Three), and those whom each chose to join his following. So they had at first simply the names Minyar 'Firsts', Tatyar 'Seconds', and Nelyar 'Thirds'. These numbered, out of the original 144 Elves that first awoke, 14, 56,and 74; and these proportions were approximately maintained until the Separation.