J.R.R. Tolkien’s first name at birth was John.
His full name was John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. “John” was his first given name, while Ronald was his second and Reuel was his third. He generally published and became famous under the initials J.R.R. Tolkien rather than using his full name on book covers.
The name Ronald was used in family and social contexts, and Tolkien was also known by the nickname Ronald during parts of his life. The initials can make his first name easy to overlook, especially because “Ronald” is often assumed to be the first name. Tolkien was born in 1892 and became one of the most influential writers and philologists of the twentieth century.