True, very true. My only point is that even some of the best "borrowed" from other sources. There's still debate about how much of Shakespeare's works were original to him. Also the basis of most fantasy races has it's roots in mythology, so it's common to find that whatever you might come up...
Something to keep in mind. When "copying" from another literary or fantasy source, you should probably change things enough to make them different or somewhat unique. However, that being said, don't forget that Tolkein quite literally took the names for most of his characters directly from...