What was J.R.R. Tolkien’s complete first name, including the initials usually shown in his pen name?

J.R.R. Tolkien’s complete first name was John Ronald Reuel.

He was born John Ronald Reuel Tolkien on 3 January 1892. John was his first given name, Ronald was the name commonly used by his family, and Reuel was another given name that Tolkien later retained in his professional identity.

His initials became internationally recognizable through his books, especially The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The initials are sometimes expanded incorrectly because readers assume the second R stands for Robert, a common English name, but Tolkien’s middle names were Ronald and Reuel.

Reuel had a family connection: Tolkien’s father, Arthur Reuel Tolkien, also carried Reuel as a middle name. Tolkien’s name is therefore linked to his father as well as to the author’s public identity. His full name is recorded in biographies and reference works as John Ronald Reuel Tolkien.