Q: J. R. R. Tolkien's full name was "John Ronald Reuel Tolkien." What does the name Reuel mean?

A: "Reuel" means "friend of God" in Hebrew, a name associated with Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses. Tolkien's father had this second middle name, and he passed it on to his son John. John, in turn, used that second middle name for all three of his sons, as well as his daughter, Priscilla.