One day as Professor Tolkien was marking School Certificate papers he came across a blank page on which he scribbled: « In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit ». Intrigued by such workings of his imagination, he set out to discover who Hobbits were and as a true philologist, why he had unconsciously coined such a word. Thus came to light the adventures of a very special Hobbit called Bilbo Baggins who leaves his beloved homeland for a time to go on a dangerous treasure quest involving a dragon. His peregrinations bear the mark of a fascinating “apprenticeship novel” or “Bildungsroman” and prove once more what the author had already pointed out: “To me a name comes first and the story follows.” Indeed considering Tolkien’s passion for words and names as a constant source of inspiration, it comes as no surprise when the reader discovers that, when devising names of characters or places, whether consciously or not, the author heralds the structure of Bilbo’s journey into maturity and self-discovery. This paper will therefore examine toponyms and anthroponyms in the light of etymology and show how they serve such a purpose.