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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article refers to John Doe, the term for anonymous characters. There is also John Dough, the fictional gingerbread man, and Jon Dough, the porn star.

Jane Doe redirects here. For the album by Converge, see Jane Doe (album).

For the TV series, see John Doe (TV series).

The name "John Doe" is used as a placeholder name for a male party, in a legal action, case or discussion, whose true identity is either unknown or must be withheld for legal reasons. The name is also used to refer to a male corpse or hospital patient whose identity is unknown. This practice is widely used in the United States and Canada, but is rare in other English-speaking countries (including the United Kingdom itself, from where it probably originates – see "Origin" below). In the United States, the term John Doe is sometimes used to refer to a generic male. On various forms, the first name listed is often John Doe, along with a fictional address or other fictional information, to provide an example of how to fill out the form.

The female equivalent is Jane Doe, whilst a child or baby whose identity is unknown may be referred to as Baby Doe (or, in one particular case only, as Precious Doe). Additional persons may be called James Doe, Judy Doe, etc. However, to avoid possible confusion, if two anonymous or unknown parties are cited in a specific case or action, the surnames Doe and Roe may be used simultaneously – for example, "John Doe v. Jane Roe". Other variations are John Stiles and Richard Miles, now rarely used, and Mary Major, which has been used in some American federal cases.^[1]

The Doe names are often, though not always, used for anonymous or unknown defendants (but see "origin" below). 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 specific legal and medical contexts, the name John Doe is often used in general discourse and popular culture to refer to an unknown or "typical" person. A famous example is the Frank Capra film Meet John Doe. In this context its use is very similar to that of John Q. Public or Joe Public.

Contents 1 Origin 2 Court cases 3 Informal names for unknown or unspecified persons in various countries/regions 4 References

[edit] Origin

The name was used at least as far back as 1659, in England—"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.^[2]

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". (Note that this is in marked contrast to current 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.)

Since its original use in 1659 John Doe has been used to describe unknown men and has been used frequently in popular culture. Some of these uses include comics, albums, and was even the name of a 2002 American television series staring Dominic Purcell.

[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.^[3] 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.
• A Doe subpoena is a tool of discovery that a plaintiff may use to seek the identity of an unknown defendant. Doe subpoenas are often served on online service providers and ISPs to obtain the identity of the author of an anonymous post.^[4]

[edit] Informal names for unknown or unspecified persons in various countries/regions

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources (ideally, using inline citations). Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008)

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. Zaid wa Amr (Arabic: زيد وعمرو)
Armenia	Pogos Pogosyan
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, Sutano, Perengano, Doña Rosa, Magoya, Pepito, Ñato (persona innominada).
Australia	Fred Nerk, Joe Blow, Joe Bloggs, John Citizen (Female equivalent: Jane 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 Müller, Herr Huber, Herr und Frau Österreicher
Azerbaijan	Ali and Vali
Belgium	In a law context usually the initials are used. If not, there is no generic name for anonymous victims or offenders. Outside of the legal cases, commonly used are Jan-met-de-pet (Dutch), Jan Modaal (Dutch, average citizen) or Jean Dupont (French).
Bosnia and Herzegovina	N.N., 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, Joe Blow, Jo Blo (Quebec, French adaptation of Joe Blow), John Smith, J. Bloggins (Canadian Forces), Pierre-Jean-Jacques.
Chile	N.N. ("Ningún Nombre" or No Name), Fulano, Juan Perez, Moya.
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	Yiannis (the equivalent of John is used to talk about someone whose name is unknown or as an example of a person in a joke or story)
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	Juan Pérez, Fulano, Sutano, Mengano, Juan Pigüave
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"), L'homme de la rue (literally "The street's man")
Germany	Unbekannt ("unknown") is used for unknown defendants in legal cases; Hans/Max/Otto (male) and Erika/Elke (female) Mustermann (Muster meaning 'sample' or 'exemplary', "-mann" is a common suffix in German surnames) 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; in rural Bavaria often the Huberbauer (Farmer Huber; the name Huber being derived from farmer); NN or N.N. (nomen nescio= "I don't know the name", nomen nominandum="name to be named") 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	Τάδε (Táde), Δείνα (Deína), Άγνωστος (Ágnōstos, unknown); Táde and Deína can roughly be translated as "this one" or "that one"
Guatemala	Juan Perez, Fulano(a) de Tal, Sutano, Mengano, Perencejo
Hong Kong and Macau	陳大文 (Chan Tai Man) (male), 王小明 (Wong Siu Ming) (boy)are frequently found on samples or specimens of addresses, passports, ID or credit cards. Mr. X, Ms. Y or Mrs. Z are generic names for anonymous victims or offenders in the law context.
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	Anna (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 Murphy; Joe Bloggs; Irish: Seán Ó Rudaí, from rud = thing; Tadhg ar an mbus, Tadhg ar an bhus (Tadhg [Timothy] on the bus); Tadhg an Mhargaidh; A N Other.
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. Also, the Placeholder tandem of Reuven ראובן and Shimon שמעון are used, generally as opposing litigants, and with Shimon playing the victim (e.g., Reuven's ox gored Shimon's ox)
Italy	Mario Rossi, Pinco Pallino, Tal dei Tali, Tizio, Caio, Sempronio.
Jamaica	Jah D
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-Gonbei, 名無しの means nameless, and 権兵衛 is a rather old-fashioned male name), 何野某 (Nanino Nanigashi, old-fashioned)
Kenya	Wanjiku (always female)
Korea	갑(甲), 을(乙), 홍길동 (洪吉童, Hong Gil-dong; male), 심청 (沈淸, Shim Cheong; female) 철수 (Cheol-soo, male), 영희 (Yeong-hee; female), (last name)모모씨(양) (mo-mo ssi (male) mo-mo yang (female))
Latvia	Jānis Bērziņš
Lithuania	Vardenis Pavardenis, Jonas Jonaitis, Petras Petraitis
Macedonia	Петар Петровски (Petar Petrovski)
Malaysia	Si Polan
Malta	Joe Borg
Mauritius	Sa Nation la, Sa boug la , Missié Pa koné (for male) ; Sa fame la , Madam ou mamzelle Pa koné (for female)
Mexico	N.N. (short for Latin nomen nescio, Juan/Juanito/Juanita Pérez, Fulano de Tal, Mengano, Perengano, Zutano, Sultano, Pancho del Rancho, Juan De Los Palotes, and Juan Camaney
Moldova	Ion kalupaky
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. Jan met de korte achternaam, "Jan with the short sur-name" is also used for jan modaal. 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, John Smith, Uncle Tom Cobley and all, Joe Blow, Fred, any old Tom Dick and Harry, Fred Nurks.
Nicaragua	Fulano (probably from Arabic, Fulan) or Fulano de Tal, Sutano, Mengano, Perencejo
Nigeria	Lagbaja, Tamedu (Yoruba)
Norway	N.N, Ola Nordmann, Kari Nordmann, Peder Ås, Navn Navnesen[citation needed]
Pakistan	Falana (Male), Falani (Female). This is derived from the Arabic equivalent. Also, Naamalum; though this is used more as in "unidentified". Also La Patta.
Panama	Fulano de Tal, Sultano, Mengano
Paraguay	Fulano de Tal, Sultano, Mengano, N.N.
Peru	N.N. , Juan Perez, Juan Quispe, 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	Fulano, Sicrano, Beltrano, Zé Povinho (the anonymous people), Zé Ninguém (unknown and unimportant one), Soldado Desconhecido (unknown soldier), o Manuel e a Maria (for man and wife).
Puerto Rico	Fulano de Tal, Mengano, or Juan del Pueblo
Romania	Ion Popescu, Ixulescu/X-ulescu, Cutare, Cutăriţă, Cutărescu
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), when patronymic name is not known it is substituted by Батькович (Bat'kovich), 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 Kow 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 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 Switzerland : 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(人), 小強 ,某甲 ,某乙, 路人甲, 路人乙, 張三, 李四, 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	"Sarı Çizmeli Mehmet Ağa" ("Mehmet Agha in Yellow Boots"), "Bilmem-kim" ("I-don't-know-who-it-is") "Filanca" "Falanca" "Ali" and "Veli" [5]
United Kingdom	Joe/Fred Bloggs, Joe Public, John Smith, A. N. Other, R. Punter, "Tom, Dick, and Harry", Ronnie (or Ronny) Arbuckle, the man on the Clapham omnibus.
Uruguay	Fulano, Mengano; Sultano
United States	Joe Blow, John Doe, Jane Doe, John Q. Public, Joe Schmoe, Joe Sixpack, John Smith, Eddie Punchclock (for blue-collar workers), Joe Benotz, Joe Botts (particularly in New York City), J. S. Ragman (U. S. Navy), Vinnie Boombotz (particularly in New York City), Joe Random, Joe the Plumber, Mr. Cardholder, I. M. Marine (U.S. Marine Corps)
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)
Yiddish	Yankel Tuches, Moyshe Pupik, Moyshe Kepoyel ("Moshe the laborer")

[edit] References