Which character is the title hobbit in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit?

Bilbo Baggins is the title hobbit in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. He begins the story as a respectable resident of Bag End who values food, comfort, and predictable routines, but Gandalf and Thorin Oakenshield draw him into an expedition to reclaim the Lonely Mountain.

Bilbo’s role changes during the journey. He becomes a burglar for the dwarves, solves problems through courage and cleverness, and encounters Gollum beneath the Misty Mountains. In that meeting, Bilbo finds a mysterious ring that later becomes central to The Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit presents the ring as a useful magical possession, while the later book reveals its far more dangerous history.

Bilbo is sometimes confused with Frodo, another Baggins and the principal ring-bearer in The Lord of the Rings. Frodo inherits the ring from Bilbo and carries it toward Mount Doom. Bilbo, however, is the protagonist and title character of Tolkien’s 1937 novel.