What is the surname of Bilbo in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit?

Bilbo’s surname in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit is Baggins. Bilbo Baggins lives in Bag End, a comfortable hobbit-hole in Hobbiton, before the wizard Gandalf and thirteen dwarves draw him into an adventure.

The Baggins family is associated with respectability, comfort, and a dislike of unnecessary travel. Bilbo’s Took ancestry, however, gives him a more adventurous side. This contrast is central to his character: he begins as a reluctant participant and gradually becomes resourceful, brave, and independent.

Readers sometimes confuse Baggins with other prominent hobbit family names. The Tooks include Bilbo’s mother’s family, the Brandybucks are connected to Buckland, and the Gamgees include his friend and gardener Samwise Gamgee.

Bilbo’s surname also links him to Frodo, his younger cousin and heir. Frodo later becomes the principal ring-bearer in The Lord of the Rings, while Bilbo is the character who first finds the Ring in the completed narrative.