John Doe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see John Doe (disambiguation).
The name John Doe is generally used as a placeholder name for a male party in a legal action or legal discussion whose true identity is unknown, and male corpses or emergency room patients whose identity is unknown are also known by the name John Doe. This practice is widely used in the United States and Canada, though rarely used in other English-speaking countries.
A female who is not known is referred to as Jane Doe. A child or baby whose identity is unknown can be referred to as Baby Doe or, in one particular case, as Precious Doe. Additional people may be called James Doe, Judy Doe, etc. The Doe names are often, though not always, used for anonymous or unknown defendants. Another set of names often used for anonymous parties, particularly plaintiffs, are Richard Roe for males and Jane Roe for females (as in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court abortion decision Roe v. Wade).
Even outside the specific legal context, the name John Doe is often used in general discourse and popular culture to refer to an unknown person. A famous example is the Frank Capra film Meet John Doe.
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[edit] Origin
The name was used at least as far back as 1659: "To prosecute the suit, to witt John Doe And Richard Roe”[1], and perhaps as early as the reign of England's King Edward III[1]
The Oxford English Dictionary states that John Doe is "the name given to the fictitious lessee of the plaintiff, in the (now obsolete) mixed action of ejectment, the fictitious defendant being called Richard Roe".
Likewise, the Nuttall Encyclopaedia states that John O'Noakes or John Noakes is a fictitious name for a litigious person, used by lawyers in actions of ejectment.
[edit] Court cases
- The landmark 1973 Supreme Court abortion case Roe v. Wade gets half of its name from Jane Roe, an anonymous plaintiff later revealed to be Norma McCorvey.
- A Toronto woman, publicly known only as Jane Doe, waged an 11-year court battle against the Toronto Police Service after being raped in 1986, alleging that the police had used her as bait to catch the rapist. She won the case in 1998, and was named Chatelaine's Woman of the Year that year. [2] She published a book about her experience, The Story of Jane Doe, in 2003.
- A St. Catharines, Ontario minor known as "Jane Doe" was drugged, raped and sodomized by the notorious Canadian killers Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo, who videotaped the assault. Her identity remains protected by law.
[edit] Informal names for unknown or unspecified persons in various countries/regions
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This section does not cite any references or sources. (May 2008) Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
Different fictitious names are used for unknown or unspecified persons in different countries in an informal context, rather than in a court of law or similar. These names are generally understood to be generic.
| Albania | Filani (female: Filania) |
|---|---|
| Arabia | Fulan (Arabic: فلان) (female equivalent: Fulanah, فلانة), Ellan (علان) as a partner. Majhoul (Arabic: مجهول). Taken further, it can become Fulan al-Fulani, or even Fulan ibn Fulan al-Fulani, depending on the intention of the speaker. |
| Argentina | N.N. (ningún nombre = "no name", originally nomen nescio, Latin for "I don't know the name"), Juan Perez, Don Nadie, Fulano (via Arabic), Mengano, Sultano, Perengano, Doña Rosa, Magolla, Pepito |
| Australia | Fred Nerk, Joe Blow, Joe Bloggs, John Citizen, Joe Farnarkle, John Barry, Simon McCool, Bob Johnson, Mike Ward |
| Austria | Hans Meier (alternate spellings: Hans Maier, Hans Mayer.), Max Mustermann, Eva Mustermann (alternate forms: Max Muster, Eva Muster.), Herr und Frau Österreicher |
| Belgium | Jean Dupont, Jan Janssen, Jos Joskens, Duschmol, Duchien, Monsieur/Madame X, Jan met de pet |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Marko Marković, Petar Petrović, Mujo Mujić, Niko Neznanović |
| Bolivia | Juan Perez, Pepito, Fulano, Sutano, Mengano |
| Brazil | Fulano (de Tal), Sicrano, Beltrano, João da Silva, Zé da Silva, Zé Ninguém, Zé das Couves, Dunha, Xpto, Seu Zé. |
| Bulgaria | Иван Иванов (Ivan Ivanov). |
| Canada | G. Raymond (male/female, mostly on credit cards and ID, used as it could be either an anglophone or francophone name), John Jones, Jos Bleau (Quebec, French adaptation of Joe Blow), John Smith |
| Chile | N.N. ("Ningún Nombre" or No Name), Fulano. |
| China | 无名氏 (Pinyin: Wú Míngshì, literally "Mr./Ms. No Name"); 某某 (Pinyin: Mǒu Mǒu, literally "so-and-so"); (using the List of common Chinese surnames with numbers, etc.) 赵大 (Pinyin: Zhào Dà, literally "Zhao Big"), 钱二 (Pinyin: Qián Èr, "Qian 2"), 孙三 (Pinyin: Sūn Sān, "Sun 3"), 张三 (Pinyin: Zhāng Sān, "Zhang 3"), 李四 (Pinyin: Lǐ Sì, "Li 4"), 王五 (Pinyin: Wáng Wǔ, "Wang 5"), ...; (using the Heavenly Stems) 某甲 (Pinyin: Mǒu Jiǎ, literally "a certain A"), 某乙 (Pinyin: Mǒu Yǐ, "a certain B"), 某丙 (Pinyin: Mǒu Bǐng, "a certain C"), ...; 小强，小明... |
| Colombia | N.N. (ningún nombre = "no name", originally nomen nescio, Latin for "I don't know the name"), Fulano, Fulano de Tal (probably from Arabic, Fulan), Pepito Pérez, Zutano, Mengano, Perengano, Perencejo |
| Costa Rica | José Pérez, Fulano de Tal (probably from Arabic, Fulan), Sutano, Mengano, Perencejo |
| Croatia | Ivan Horvat, Pero Perić, N.N. ("Nepoznati Netko", trns. "Unknown someone") |
| Cuba | Fulano, Mengano, Ciclano, Esperancejo, Juan Pérez (female equivalents: Fulana, Mengana, Ciclana, Esperanceja, Juana Pérez.) Optional surname: de Tal ("of such") |
| Czech Republic | Jan Novák, Karel Vomáčka, pan Neznámý (Mr. Unknown), Franta Vopršálek (humorously) |
| Cyprus | Bambos (The extremely wide range of people listed as missing in action after the Turkish invasion led to the comedic lament: "You'd think it would be a little more specific, someone's got to say 'Where's Bambos?'" |
| Denmark | N.N. (short for Latin nomen nescio, "I don't know the name"). More informally, the term Hr. og Fru Danmark ("Mr. and Mrs. Denmark") is used as a generic name for any average Danish couple (similar to Mr. & Mrs. John Q. Public and Kari og Ola Normann). |
| Ecuador | Pedro Perez, Fulano, Sultano, Mengano, Juan Piguabe |
| Euskal Herria | Urlia, sandia, berendia |
| Estonia | Jaan Tamm (male), Tädi Maali (an old female, literally "Aunt Maali") |
| Faroe Islands | Miðalhampamaður |
| Finland | Matti Meikäläinen (male/generic) and Maija Meikäläinen (female) |
| France | Jean Dupont, Paul Martin, Monsieur Durand, Monsieur Untel / Madame Unetelle (literally "one such"), Monsieur/Madame X, Pierre-Paul-Jacques as in Tom-Dick-Harry (even though those are three very common, distinct given names, this is often said as a long uninterrupted string, as if an actual composed name: "or" is added in the middle sometimes: "Pierre-Paul-ou-Jacques") |
| Germany | Unbekannt ("unknown") is used for unknown defendants in legal cases; Hans/Max/Otto (male) and Erika (female) Mustermann (Muster meaning 'sample', "-mann" is a common suffix in German names) is frequently found on samples or specimens of addresses, passports, ID or credit cards; colloquial expressions are: Lieschen Müller (female), Otto Normalverbraucher (literally "average consumer", referring to a category used in food rationing after WWII), Meier/Müller/Schulze, Hinz & Kunz; NN or N.N. (nomen nescio= "I don't know the name", nomen nominandum="Name hitherto not known") is used as a placeholder in university catalogues and other written documents, e.g. programs, if the name of a lecturer or performer is not yet known, or org. charts, if a post is not yet filled. |
| Greece | Γιώργος Τάδε (Giorgos Tade, male), Μαρία Τάδε (Maria Tade, female), Άγνωστος (Agnostos/Unknown). |
| Guatemala | Juan Perez, Fulano(a) de Tal, Sutano, Mengano, Perencejo |
| Hong Kong and Macau | 陳大文 (male), 王小明 (boy). |
| Hungary | Gipsz Jakab (Jacob Gypsum), Teszt Elek (I'm Testing - Elek is an old Hungarian first name), Hát/Háth Izsák (a pun on "hátizsák", meaning "backpack"), Jóska Pista, Kovács 123. János (Kovács János = John Smith, a very common name), Pityi Palkó, Ribizli Gizi (Giselle Currant), Kerti Virág (Blossom Garden), XY |
| Iceland | Meðal-Jón, Meðal-Jóna, Jón Jónsson, Jóna Jónsdóttir |
| India | Naamalum (Used in judicial purposes as well for portion of male, female and child alike) नामालुम (in Devanagari). Translates directly into "unknown". |
| Indonesia | Si Anu, Si Polan, Si Fulan, Mr. X (for man corpse), Bunga (for victim of sexual harassment), Hamba Allah (for Muslims); (using letters) Si A (literally: "a certain A"), Si B ("a certain B"), Si C ("a certain C"), ... |
| Iran | Folani (Persian : فُلانی), Felani (Persian : فلانی), Yaroo (Persian : ِیارو) |
| Ireland | Seán and Síle Citizen; John fFcker; Joe Bloggs; Irish: Seán Ó Rudaí, from rud = thing; Tadhg ar an mbus, Tadhg ar an bhus (Tadhg on the bus); Tadhg an Mhargaidh |
| Israel | Israel Israeli ישראל ישראלי and also Ploni פלוני and Almoni אלמוני (as a party to Ploni) or the latter combined to Ploni Almoni פלוני אלמוני (taken from Ruth 4:1, where it is used in place of the actual name of Boaz's relative, whose name is omitted as he failed to perform his levirate duty). Another name used is Moshe Cohen משה כהן. |
| Italy | Mario Rossi, Pinco Pallino, Tal dei Tali, Tizio, Caio, Sempronio. |
| Japan | 山田太郎 (Yamada Taro, a common male name), 山田花子 (Yamada Hanako, a common female name), 名無しの権兵衛 (Nanashi-no-Gombee, 名無しの means nameless, and 権兵衛 is a rather old-fashioned male name.), 何野某 (Nanno Nanigashi, old-fashioned)) |
| Korea | 갑, 을 홍길동 (洪吉童, Hong Gil-dong; male), 심청 (沈淸, Shim Cheong; female) 철수 (Cheol-soo, male), 영희 (Yeong-hee; female) |
| Latvia | Jānis Bērziņš |
| Lithuania | Vardenis Pavardenis, Jonas Jonaitis, Petras Petraitis |
| Macedonia | Петар Петровски (Petar Petrovski) |
| Malaysia | Ali, Abu, Ahmad, Ah Meng, Siti |
| Malta | Joe Borg |
| Mauritius | Sa Nation la, Sa boug la (for male) ; Sa fame la (for female) |
| Mexico | N.N. (short for Latin nomen nescio, Juan/Juanito/Juanita Pérez, Fulano de Tal, Mengano, Perengano, Sutano, Pancho Rodriguez |
| Netherlands | Jan Jansen. Jan Modaal is used in a similar way to the English the Joneses, in particular referring to average wealth. Jan-Piet-Klaas used as one word with the meaning of Tom, Dick and Harry. In a police or legal context, an unknown person is indicated as "NN" for nomen nescio (Latin for "I don't know the name") Source (Dutch language). |
| Nepal | Ram, Shyam, Hari, and other slangs such as Chamar, Ram Kumar Deshar, Sigdel, and Jyapu. |
| New Zealand | Joe Bloggs, John Doe, Bob Smith |
| Nigeria | Lagbaja (Yoruba) |
| Norway | N.N, Ola Nordmann, Kari Nordmann, Peder Ås, Navn Navnesen |
| Pakistan | Falana (Male), Falani (Female). This is derived from the Persian equivalent. Also, Naamalum (same as used in India. In fact, this is more apt) |
| Panama | Fulano de Tal, Sultano, Mengano |
| Paraguay | Fulano de Tal, Sultano, Mengano, N.N. |
| Peru | N.N. , Juan López, Fulano de Tal, Mengano, Zutano, Perengano, Perencejo |
| Philippines | Juan dela Cruz, Juanita dela Cruz |
| Poland | N.N. ("unknown"--used to refer to e.g. unknown soldiers at war); Jan Kowalski, Jan Nowak (used in the meaning of "everyman", an average citizen) |
| Portugal | Zé Ninguém, Ninguém, Soldado Desconhecido, Fulano (de Tal), Sicrano, Beltrano, Ezequiel, Zé Povinho. |
| Puerto Rico | Fulano de Tal, Mengano, or Juan del Pueblo |
| Romania | Ion Popescu, Ixulescu/X-ulescu |
| Russia | Иванов Иван Иванович (Ivanov Ivan Ivanovich), Петров и Сидоров (Petrov and Sidorov), Вася Пупкин (Vasya Pupkin), Марьиванна (Marivanna = Maria Ivanovna), имярек (old slavonic abbreviation of имя рекомое, that is "name to be spoken". Still usable; not a name, but a reference to a person, usually in context of filling in a form), referring to legal entities - ООО "Ромашка" (OOO "Romashka" - "Сamomile Limited liability company"), ООО "Рога и копыта" (OOO "Roga i Kopyta" - Horns & Hoofs LLC, see The Little Golden Calf) |
| Scotland | Jock Tamson, most often found now in the stock phrase 'Jock Tamson's bairns', meaning the human race: We're aa Jock Tamson's bairns we're all one common humanity. Ony Jock or Jenny: any person, male or female. |
| Serbia | In legal documents, police and court, NN lice (NN person) is used. Everyday equivalents are: Petar Petrović, Pera Perić, Marko Marković, Janko Janković. |
| Singapore | In humour, everyday equivalents are either: Tan Ah Kao and Tan Ah Beng. |
| Slovakia | Ján Novák, (humorously) Jožko Mrkvička |
| Slovenia | Janez Novak |
| South Africa | Koos van der Merwe, Piet Pompies, Jan Rap |
| Spain | Fulano, Mengano, Zutano, Sultano, Perengano (in that order), female versions end -a instead of -o, diminutives end -ito, -ita, surname for the first person is "de Tal", "de Cual" is used as surname for a second person; Pepe Pérez, Perico de los Palotes, Don Nadie, Juan Nadie, Juan Español, Rita la pollera. |
| Swahili | Fulani, Msikiti |
| Sweden | (Herr/Fru) Svensson, Medelsvensson for the average Swede; Kalle, Olle, Pelle, Nisse and Lisa are pretty common when a name is needed as an example. "Name Name" (Swedish: Namn Namn or NN from Latin Nomen Nescio) is used as a placeholder. |
| Switzerland | Herr und Frau Schweizer, Hans Meier, Hans Mustermann. In Italian-speaking Switzeraland : Marco Rossi, Marco Bernasconi. |
| Taiwan | 志明 (chi-Ming, common male name), 春嬌 (Chun-Jaou, common female name). 王小明, 王小華, 阿榮, 阿財, 某某, 小強 ,etc. |
| Thailand | นาย ก. (Nai Gor, literally Mr. Gor), นาง ก. (Nang Gor, literally Mrs. Gor). Note that ก. (Gor) is the first letter in Thai alphabet. Other people in the story are named after subsequent letters: ข (Kor, with rising tone) ค (Kor, with middle tone), etc. |
| Turkey | Male names: Ahmet, Mehmet, Ali, Veli, Osman, Hasan, Hüseyin, Yaşar (means "who lives"), Adem (referring to Adam); Female names: Ayşe, Fatma, Zeynep; Surnames: Öztürk, Yılmaz, Kaya, Demir[2] |
| United Kingdom | Joe/Fred Bloggs, John Smith, A N Other, R Punter, "Tom, Dick, and Harry", Ronnie (or Ronny) Arbuckle, Joe Public, Johnny Foreigner, the man on the Clapham omnibus. |
| Uruguay | Fulano, Mengano; Sultano |
| USA | John Doe, Jane Doe, John Q. Public, Joe Blow, Joe Schmoe, Joe Sixpack, John Smith, Eddie Punchclock (for blue-collar workers), Joe Botts (particularly in New York City), J. S. Ragman (U. S. Navy), Vinnie Boombotz (particularly in New York City) |
| Venezuela | Fulano, Fulano de Tal, Zutano, Mengano, Perencejo, Pedro Perez, Juan de los Palotes, Juan Bimba |
| Vietnam | Người giấu tên, Nguyễn Văn A (male), Trần Thị B (female) |
[edit] References
- ^ What's In A Name, Merriam-Webster(1996)ISBN-13: 978-0877796138
- ^ Name Stats of Turkish Department of Population, Ministery of Internal Affirs
[edit] See also
