What is the name of J.R.R. Tolkien’s hobbit hero in The Hobbit?

Bilbo Baggins is the hobbit hero of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit.

Bilbo begins the novel as a respectable resident of Hobbiton who values comfort, regular meals, and a quiet routine. The wizard Gandalf and thirteen dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield draw him into a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and its treasure from the dragon Smaug.

During the journey, Bilbo finds a magic ring in the Misty Mountains while escaping from Gollum. The encounter introduces the Ring that later becomes the central danger of The Lord of the Rings, although its full significance is not yet known in the earlier book.

Bilbo is sometimes confused with Frodo Baggins, the principal hobbit of The Lord of the Rings. Frodo is Bilbo’s younger cousin and adopted heir. Both carry the Ring, but Bilbo is the protagonist whose unexpected courage drives Tolkien’s first published Middle-earth adventure.