Hobbits are the fictional people J.R.R. Tolkien created as the main inhabitants of the Shire. They are small, peace-loving beings known for homes built into hills, a preference for ordinary comforts, and a strong attachment to food, family, and local customs.
Bilbo Baggins, Frodo Baggins, and Samwise Gamgee are among Tolkien’s best-known hobbit characters. The Shire is their homeland in northwestern Middle-earth, and its rural society provides a deliberately familiar contrast with the wars and ancient powers beyond its borders.
Hobbits were not the same as dwarves, despite both peoples being associated with underground or enclosed homes in some stories. Tolkien also distinguished hobbits from creatures such as Ents, who are tree-like shepherds, and the Valar, powerful spiritual beings in the mythology of Arda.
Tolkien’s early manuscripts used several related names, including “Kuduk” in one linguistic context. In the published stories, “hobbit” became the standard English term. The word was eventually included in modern dictionaries, although Tolkien’s fictional history gives it a much older in-world origin.