Didn't see it mentioned before but of course there always the Norse "Midgard" - Middle-earth. And almost all of the dwarf-names from "The Hobbit" turn up in various Norse Eddas (even Bombur, which I hadn't expected).
And as for allegory...maybe Tolkien just hated the idea of deliberately writing an allegory, the same way a lot of writers to avoid consciously using symbolism ("OK, the color red will represent danger when it appears"). On the other hand, sometimes symbolism will develop in a story naturally to point where you read your own work over and notice it and wonder where it came from, and that can work well. I think that Tolkien's stories are fantastic allegories, just naturally produced ones that grew into allegories on their own without any conscious effort on his part.
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Father, dear Father, if you see fit, We'll send my love to college for one year yet
Tie blue ribbons all about his head, To let the ladies know that he's married.
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