Man behind the Mythology

[Child of the 7th Age]

--> We've probably all cringed at Tolkien's first choice of a name for Frodo - Bingo! He had a reason for using it though, one that was not an isolated case in his stories. Where did that name originate?

Esty - Wasn't Bingo the name of one of his son's toy bears? And there are other characters that took their origin this way. Tom Bombadil was orginally based on a Dutch doll that belonged to Michael Tolkien. And the dog Rover who went on adventures in Roverandum took its origin from the toy that Tolkien's young son Michael lost on the beach. In fact, the tale was written to console Michael for his loss.