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List of terms referring to an average person

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Industrial Arthropod (talk | contribs) at 13:51, 30 November 2022 (→‎United Kingdom: Put John Doe and Jane Doe on the same line, as they're in the same article). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Here is a list of terms referring to an average person. Many are used as placeholder names.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Unsorted

By culture

Arab World

Fulan (male: فلان) Fulana (female: فلانة)[1]

Australia

Austria

  • Hans Meier / Maier / Mayer[2]
  • Herr und Frau Österreicher (Mr and Mrs Austrian)[3]

Brazil

  • João or Joãozinho, Maria ou Mariazinha
  • "Zé Ninguém" ( "Joe Nobody" ) and similars ("Zé Arruela" meaning "Joe Washer" as an offense).
  • "Fulano" or "Fulano de tal"

Denmark

  • Hr. og Fru Danmark (Mr. and Mrs. Denmark)[4]

Finland

Matti Meikäläinen (male, literally "our Matti"), Maija Meikäläinen (female, literally "our Maija")[5]

France

  • Very popular names (similar to John/Jane Doe): Jean Dupont, Paul Martin, M./Mme Durand, M./Mme Martin, etc.;
  • Usable as a common word: Pierre-Paul-Jacques (with the meaning of "Someone");[6]
  • Random people (similar to Average John/Jane): Monsieur/Madame Tout-le-monde,[citation needed] (M./Mme) Untel/Unetelle (Mr/Mrs NoName),[7] Madame Michu (only female),[8] (M./Mme) Tartempion (familiar and little satirical);[9]
  • Other:
    • (M./Mme) Machin/Machine (familiar terms, used when one does not take the pain to find another term);[10]
    • (Un) Gazier originally, a man who worked in gas transport; nowadays, it is a familiar term to tell "Someone" (mostly for a man, this term is rare for women, and in such a case, the correct orthography is "Gazière").[11]

See also fr:wikt:Tartempion#Synonymes

Germany

  • Max Mustermann (Erika for female)
  • Otto Normalverbraucher
  • Hein Blöd
  • Lieschen Müller

Hungary

  • Gipsz Jakab

Israel

Italy

  • Mario Rossi[12]
  • Pinco Pallino[13]
  • Tal dei Tali[14]
  • Signor Nessuno[15]
  • Uomo medio[16]
  • Cittadino qualunque[16]
  • "Tizio,[17] Caio[18] e Sempronio[19]" equivalent to "Tom, Dick and Harry"

Japan

Malaysia

The Netherlands

  • Jan Modaal

Norway

Philippines

Poland

  • Jan Kowalski (male), Anna Kowalska (female), the second most common Polish surname.
  • For a broader representation of average Poles "Kowalski" may be grouped with some other common surnames, such as Nowak (the most common Polish surname), Malinowski, or Wiśniewski: "Imagine our neighbors, the Kowalskis or Nowaks, who earn PLN 100 less per month than we do".[23]

Portuguese

  • Fulano (from Arabic), Sicrano (unknown etymology), Beltrano (from given name Beltrão)[24] "Fulano, Sicrano e Beltrano" equivalent to "Tom, Dick and Harry"

Russia

Common placeholder first names in Russia are Ivan and Peter, due to their commonality. Their placeholder function may be seen in old Russian textbooks: in arithmetical problems or sentences to illustrate grammar.[25]

For a group of average persons or to stress the randomness of a selection, a triple common Russian surnames are used together in the same context: "Ivanov, Petrov, or Sidorov". This a relatively new phenomenon, unknown in early 20th century. Ivanov, being derived from the most common first name, is a placeholder either for s sine arbitrary person. In its plural form, "Ivanovs", it may be used as a placeholder for a group of people.[25] There is a military joke: The sergeant asks the rookies: "Your surnames!" - "Ivanov!", "Petrov!", "Sidorov!" - "Are you brothers?" - "No, we are namesakes, sir!"[26]

In informal, humorous or ironic contexts, the placeholder Vasya Pupkin [ru] is sometimes used. The surname, derived from the word "pup", meaning "navel", is funny-sounding for a Russian.[citation needed]

In Russian jokes, a placeholder name for an archetypal Jew is Rabinovich.

Spanish

  • Fulano, from Arabic, Mengano, Zutano. "Fulano, Mengano y Zutano" equivalent to "Tom, Dick and Harry"

Sweden

  • Svensson, medelsvensson describing an average Swede. Svensson being one of the most common surnames in Sweden.

Thailand

  • Somchai (common name for male – literally meaning "appropriate for a man"), Somsri (common, if somewhat dated, name for female), Sommai (common names of either gender), nai-gor (นาย ก equivalent to 'Mr. A')[27]

United Kingdom

United States

Social Security card featuring John Q. Public

See also

References

  1. ^ نذكرها كثيراً في أحاديثنا.. ما هو "فلان" أو "فلانة"؟
  2. ^ Max Mustermann - es gibt ihn wirklich (Max Mustermann - he actually exists), German newspaper article
  3. ^ Ernährungsfehler von Herrn und Frau Österreicher (Unhealthy Food Habits Of Mr and Mrs Austrian), Austrian government website
  4. ^ "hr. og fru Danmark". Den Danske Ordbog (in Danish). Det Danske Sprog- og Litteraturselskab. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  5. ^ Milburn, Trudy (2015). Communicating User Experience: Applying Local Strategies Research to Digital Media Design. Lexington Books. p. 134. ISBN 978-1-4985-0614-4.
  6. ^ "Pierre, Paul ou Jacques en français & son équivalent anglais | Yolaine Bodin". Yolaine Bodin. 16 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Untel : Définition simple et facile du dictionnaire".
  8. ^ "Madame Michu (Définition)".
  9. ^ "Tartempion (Définition)".
  10. ^ "MACHIN : Définition de MACHIN".
  11. ^ "Définitions : Gazier - Dictionnaire de français Larousse".
  12. ^ Waldman, Katy (2015-03-20). "Are You a John Q. Public or a Joe Blow?". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  13. ^ "pinco¹ in Vocabolario - Treccani". www.treccani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  14. ^ "tale in Vocabolario - Treccani". www.treccani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  15. ^ "nessuno, signor nessuno - Dizionario italiano-francese | WordReference.com". www.wordreference.com (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  16. ^ a b "Qualunque: Definizione e significato di qualunque - Dizionario italiano - Corriere.it". dizionari.corriere.it. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  17. ^ "Tìzio in Vocabolario - Treccani". www.treccani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  18. ^ "Càio in Vocabolario - Treccani". www.treccani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  19. ^ "Semprònio in Vocabolario - Treccani". www.treccani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  20. ^ Times, New Straits (2020-03-27). "'Makcik Kiah' is famous now but who is she? | New Straits Times". NST Online. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  21. ^ "Mak Cik Kiah peniaga pisang goreng dah boleh senyum sikit..." Sinarharian (in Malay). 2020-03-27. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  22. ^ Chung, Esther. "We Are All Makcik Kiah, And Her Family Is Our Family | TRP". www.therakyatpost.com/. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  23. ^ Mariusz Rutkowski [pl], "PRZECIĘTNY KOWALSKI. UWAGI O KONOTACJACH I MEDIALNYCH WYSTĄPIENIACH JEDNOSTKI ONIMICZNEJ", Zeszyty Naukowe KUL, vol 58, no. 3 (231), 2015, pp. 3-9.
  24. ^ "De onde vêm os termos Fulano, Beltrano e Sicrano?", September 27, 2016
  25. ^ a b "Иванов, Петров, Сидоров..." (archived), In: "Чужое имя", Kanun Almanac [Альманах Канун], issue 6, St.Petersburg, 2001, pp.273-293.
  26. ^ Alim Akhmadeev, ИВАНОВ, ПЕТРОВ, СИДОРОВ, Istoki July 3, 2020,
  27. ^ "นาย ก". thai-language. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  28. ^ "Joe Public synonyms with definition | Macmillan Thesaurus". www.macmillanthesaurus.com. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  29. ^ https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2017-11-23/debates/4f15988c-ecc4-4a58-a1d1-9f1e3e789f3a/SmartMetersBill(ThirdSitting) [bare URL]
  30. ^ "UNWASHED | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary". dictionary.cambridge.org. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  31. ^ Rodale, Jerome Irving (1978). The Synonym Finder. Rodale. p. 470. ISBN 978-0-87857-236-6.
  32. ^ "Outraged of Tunbridge Wells, Edited by Nigel Cawthorne - Review". The Independent. 2013-12-08. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
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