Which fictional creature did J.R.R. Tolkien create the name “hobbit” for?

J.R.R. Tolkien created “hobbit” as the name for a small humanoid people.

In Tolkien’s fiction, Hobbits are small, humanlike inhabitants of Middle-earth, known for their love of food, comfort, gardens, and quiet domestic life. Bilbo Baggins and Frodo Baggins are the best-known Hobbit characters, and the species is central to both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Tolkien’s “hobbit” is not simply another word for a goblin, elf, or dwarf. Hobbits have their own culture, settlements, family traditions, and varieties, including Harfoots, Stoors, and Fallohides. The word became widely familiar after The Hobbit was published in 1937, although Tolkien’s stories give it a much more specific fictional meaning than its everyday modern use.