[Galadriel55]

Well, I still say that the Rohirrim and the few Men, Dwarves, and Elves that knew about hobbits were the minority.

I think the "problem" lies in the fact that hobbits were never recorded in the great histories of ME before the War, even if they were known to exist. Faramir, who spent lots of time in the library, never heard of a hobbit until he met Frodo. I think it's safe to say that most Men of Gondor did not know of hobbits. A "perian" is literally "halfling" in elvish (or, at least, I think it is), and wouldn't that be the natural thing to call a race that is half your size? I think that that name did not exist before Pippin was brought to Gondor, unless it was in some "old wives' tale" taken from the Rohirrim.

Moreover, there are many people inhabiting ME that don't know about hobbits - Dunlendings, Haradrim, orcs, and many others that did not come in contact with them. Even Sauron had no idea that hobbits existed until Gollum was caught.