Children of Ilúvatar

The Children of Ilúvatar is the name given to the two races of Elves and Men in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium because they were created by Ilúvatar, the One God, without the help of the Ainur.

The story of their creation is told in the Quenta Silmarillion. Elves are also named the Minnónar in Quenya ("Firstborn") and Men are the Apanónar ("Those born after" or "Afterborn") because the Elves were the first of the Children of Ilúvatar to awake in Middle-earth, whereas Men were not intended to follow until the beginning of the First Age many years later.