Peregrin & Meriadoc Favreau were named after characters in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, and they knew that from a very early age. They didn't especially like it. Many people, when they first met the boys- not knowing where the names came from- called them Merry and Perry, but the brothers always insisted they be called by their proper names, rather than nicknames or shortened forms. (Young Meriadoc liked to tease his brother that he, Peregrin, would be worse off if folks figured out their names' origins, for then they'd start calling him 'Pippin.') But neither of them wanted anyone to figure it out. When they got older, they learned to appreciate the books, and rather liked the names, but still preferred their full names and never discussed the names with anyone who wasn't already familiar with the books.
They were born (Peregrin in 2349, Meriadoc in 2350) and grew up in Paris, France, on Earth, where they both went to school with Jax DeSabel, though they barely knew him at the time. Meriadoc was in the same class as Jax, Peregrin was a year older. Jax, only an acquaintence, called them Merry and Perry once, as did so many others. They politely asked him not to do so again. And he agreed never to do so again- unless and until he ever learned why they didn't like it.
One year in the early 2370s, Jax was back in Paris visiting his folks just after a promotion to full lieutenant, and one night during his visit he wandered into a bar there called Jackie's, where it turned out Meriadoc was working. They got to talking a bit about old times and getting a bit drunk. After a while, they were running out of things to talk about and trying to think of something else to say. For no particular reason, the conversation turned to sports, which Jax knew rather little about. They were talking about a certain football team (and here I mean soccer), and how much they stunk this year. and some folks at the next table overheard, and they happened to be rather drunk themselves, and fans of the team being discussed. they picked a fight with Jax and Meriadoc, and it soon got out of hand. before anyone knew it, the whole bar was fighting, and no one was quite sure why, nor did they care. in the end the whole place was an awful mess and the police had to be called to break it up. the next day Jax and Meriadoc woke up in the street outside, and went in to see if they could clean themselves up a bit, and also to help clean the bar up. They didn't get a chance to do either, before the owner kicked them out of the place permanently, and Meriadoc was out of a job. the very next day Jax contacted him about taking a job at his family's pub in Dublin, the Fourth O' March. So Meriadoc moved to Ireland and became a bartender there. Within a few years he was the pub's chief bartender.
Peregrin remains in Paris, where he still frequents Jackie's. Sometime in 2375, Jax showed up in the pub for a few minutes to talk briefly with Peregrin and call him Pippin, before being chased off by the owner. (Jax had shortly prior been to the Fourth O' March to talk with Meriadoc about all the adventures he, Jax, had been up to, and to call the bartender Merry.) Jax had, of course, read the Lord of the Rings trilogy over the summer, for the first time ever.