Is this Star Trek: Picard Romulan character meant to be a reference to Lord of the Rings?

Question

Season 1 of Star Trek: Picard introduced new Romulan characters, including one rather benevolent hero named Elnor. Elnor was a survivor of a supernova event that destroyed Romulus (see: Star Trek 2009 Feature Film) and was relocated to the planet Vashti where he was raised and trained by the Qowat Milat, a group of Romulan warrior nuns!

Everything about Elnor from his name (see: "Elrond" below) to his looks (including Romulan pointy ears) and his long straight hair, or even his extraordinary, overly polite, yet direct manner ("absolute candor") and his child-like disposition, and even his initial clothing and fighting style with a tan qalanq (sword) is very reminiscent of many Elven characters presented in The Lord of the Rings franchise.

I know during some early scenes that The Three Musketeers is directly referenced as a book Picard would read to Elnor as child, but I was wondering if there might also be references or really, allusions to the Elves of Lord of the Rings as well, or any other Lord of the Rings references in Star Trek Picard that perhaps the executive producers, directors, writers or actors have mentioned? Even his eventual relationship with Seven of Nine and her association with the Fenris Rangers feels like a Lord of the Rings/Arthurian idea/plot/character dynamic.

Answer 1

Michael Chabon, "who served as writer, executive producer, and showrunner on the first season of Star Trek: Picard", did a Q&A via his Instagram story. In it he addressed the following question:

Q: Is the name 'Elnor' a play on the name 'L. Ron'?

A: No, but it may be possible to translate it from the Elvish in an interesting way.

(The "L. Ron" is a reference to L. Ron Hubbard.)

This is explained further on the Memory Alpha Elnor article:

él" (star) "nor-" (trek/run).

So while he isn't explicitly stating here that Elnor was inspired by Lord of the Rings, I think that given the similarities and that the Elvish translation of his name matches "Star Trek", it's pretty unlikely that this is a coincidence. Plus the way Chabon answers the question in a sly way suggests, to my eyes at least, that he really intended this reference.

Answer 2

"Similar, but different."

The actor who played Elron, Evan Evagora expressed worries that there were some unsettling similarities between the elves in Lord of the Rings (in particular Legolas rather than Elrond) and his character. He was convinced by the show's writers that the characters were, in fact, very different in a wide variety of ways and that fans would be able to easily discern the dissimilarity.

“That’s what I’ve been hearing [that his character was 'Space Legolas']. We, or at least I, had some thoughts like — is [my character] maybe a little too close to what some fans have seen in other things — in other franchises like Lord of the Rings,” Evagora says. “But in talking it out with Michael [Chabon], and with Alex [Kurtzman] and the other great writers — and with Patrick — I quickly realized we are giving audiences something similar but different, this almost moody teenager. Something that feels new to Star Trek, for sure.”

_{^{How ‘Star Trek’ Actor Overcame His Patrick Stewart Jitters}}