What was J.R.R. Tolkien’s full first-and-middle-name sequence?

J.R.R. Tolkien’s full first-and-middle-name sequence was John Ronald Reuel.

He was registered as John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. “Ronald” was chosen as his middle name, while “Reuel” came from a family name associated with his father’s side. In everyday life he was generally known as Ronald or Tolkien, and his published name used the initials J.R.R.

The initials are so familiar that some readers assume the middle names were Robert and Richard, but that is incorrect. The “R.R.” stands for Ronald Reuel. His surname, Tolkien, is generally understood to have German roots, connected with the family name Tolkien or Tollkiehn.

Tolkien’s naming interests also appeared in his fiction. He developed detailed naming systems, languages, and genealogies for Middle-earth, but the initials in his own author name are ordinary biographical initials rather than a fictional code.