# Let's find the "John Smith" name for every nationality **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 1, 2004, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-find-the-john-smith-name-for-every-nationality/248106 "2004-06-01T17:52:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-find-the-john-smith-name-for-every-nationality/248106/61 "2004-06-03T16:03:07Z")
Jan Novak for our friends the Czechs. ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-find-the-john-smith-name-for-every-nationality/248106/62 "2004-06-03T16:04:22Z")
Given that Martin (or a close variant) is a common name in English, Franch, Spanish, and perhaps German speaking countries, could \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Martin be an average guy name for any “Westerner”? I think some names such as Daniel and David are identical in all of these languages too, but I am not sure if they are equally common. ---
**Author:** ![YoudNeverGuess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a587f6/32.png) [@YoudNeverGuess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YoudNeverGuess)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-find-the-john-smith-name-for-every-nationality/248106/63 "2004-06-03T16:25:13Z")
> [@hapaXL](#): > > Oh, this isn’t going to be an exact science. It’s just a name that would prompt my Irish-American father to exclaim, “he’s as Irish as Paddy’s pig.” I have no idea what that means, but I know that if somebody is named Patrick O’Brien, chances are good that that person is **Irish**. Well the most common Irish surname is Murphy and most popular boys name at the moment is Jack (not very Irish) but you could take the most popular boy’s name of 1998 which was Conor to get Conor Murphy. FWIW when I hear the name John Smith I automatically think of an Englishman rather than an American. OK to play the game - Germans - my WAG for a common name would be Hans Schmidt. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-find-the-john-smith-name-for-every-nationality/248106/64 "2004-06-03T16:39:42Z")
_Otto Normalverbraucher_ is “the man in the street” in Germany, but for purposes of form samples etc. the canonical name has become **Erika Mustermann** (male variant: **Hans Mustermann** ). _Mustermann_ = Sampleman, a fairly rare name (the [German telephone database](http://www.telefonbuch.de/) has only 41 subscribers of that name) which was used for [a sample of the new ID card](http://134.102.55.200/haupt/erika/erika2.jpg) in 1991 government publicity and has since been widely used (although the federal goverment has changed to **Desiré Jeannette Mustermann** a few years ago to reflect changed naming patterns in the last few decades.) If you see a page about a person named Erika, Desiré Jeannette, Hans, or Erich Mustermann on the Web, most probably it was a sample personal page that a web administrator put up for internal demonstration purposes and forgot fo hide from search engine spiders. Like [this Hans Mustermann campaign web site](http://hans-mustermann.org.liberale.de/) that Germany’s Free Democratic Party’s web designers apparently put up to demonstrate the campaign web site template. Or [this sample staff member page](http://www.iwi-iuk.org/material/RDF/1.1/profile/MNPerson/mnpersontest.html) (Prof. Erika Mustermann, retired) of an academic institution. ---
**Author:** ![notquitekarpov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@notquitekarpov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notquitekarpov)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-find-the-john-smith-name-for-every-nationality/248106/65 "2004-06-03T17:17:44Z")
> [@Rashak Mani](#): > > Brazil - José da Silva > > José = Joseph. Very common. “da Silva” is a very common surname. Actually means from the “forest”. Silva originates from Sylvan in Latin. Commonly given to those registering in the ports that were bound to the vast interior of Brazil. Interesting! Here it would be Joao de Silva, although also lots of dos Santos too. To build on your forestry theme for the benefit of the passing traffic “de Olivera” originates from Olive (as in the tree) as well as being the surname of the first Prime Minister of Eire. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-find-the-john-smith-name-for-every-nationality/248106/66 "2004-06-03T17:49:52Z")
> [@Bibliovore](#): > > Any Arabic country - Mohammad. No particularly common surnames, though. Even if not particularly common, teh Arabid surname _Haddad_ and its variants can be translated as “Smith”. IIRC, _Yahya_ (sp?) is the Arabic version of “John”. ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-find-the-john-smith-name-for-every-nationality/248106/67 "2004-06-03T19:53:31Z")
**dorfl** , wasn’t Otto Normalverbraucher in “Irgendwo in Berlin” [somewhere in Berlin]? **PookahMacPhellimey** hehehehe at the Limburgse Jimi Hendrix. 🙂 [The old country is fine. Still the same number of curmudgeons in it] 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gouda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c77e96/32.png) [@gouda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gouda)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-find-the-john-smith-name-for-every-nationality/248106/68 "2004-06-04T07:50:24Z")
Goa (in India), which used to be a Portugese colony until the late 1960s, still has a vibrant Portuguese culture, and a large number of Goanese have Portugese last names… De Silva, De Cruz, De Cuhna, etc… First names though reflect the English influence. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-find-the-john-smith-name-for-every-nationality/248106/69 "2004-06-04T11:53:01Z")
From my experience the most common Irish male name is probably John O’Shea, I have 3 friends named that, and have treated innumerable patients named it. ---
**Author:** ![YoudNeverGuess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a587f6/32.png) [@YoudNeverGuess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YoudNeverGuess)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-find-the-john-smith-name-for-every-nationality/248106/70 "2004-06-04T12:44:15Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Even if not particularly common, teh Arabid surname _Haddad_ and its variants can be translated as “Smith”. > > IIRC, _Yahya_ (sp?) is the Arabic version of “John”. Is Fatima a common name for a woman or am I just imagining it? Also I met a fair few Hassan’s in Egypt… and a couple of Amin’s ---
**Author:** ![Kantalooppi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a5b964/32.png) [@Kantalooppi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kantalooppi)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-find-the-john-smith-name-for-every-nationality/248106/71 "2004-06-04T18:35:10Z")
In Finland, the surname would definitely be ‘Virtanen’. There’s a popular comic in Finland called “B. Virtanen”, about a small, throughoutly average man who goes on through his life being tyrannized by various bosses at his drab office job and by his horrible hag of a wife and preteen-hooligan son at home. (One wonders whether the popularity of this comic says something about Finns. Probably yes, considering another popular comic is about a woman living in a relationship with an anthropomorphic pig). IIRC, “Virtanen” in his name refers to the fact that he’s the quintessential could-be-anybody everyman, while “B” (NOT a letter that would start, or even appear, in any Finnish name) refers to the fact that his life is, basically, B-class. For the first name, it would probably be “Matti” or “Ville” - “Juhani” and various others are more popular, but for some reason, I’d bet most people would say “Matti” or “Ville” first if asked about a typical Finnish name. “Matti Meikalainen” is more like John Q. Public - “Meikalainen” having the rough meaning of “One-of-us”. ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-find-the-john-smith-name-for-every-nationality/248106/72 "2004-06-04T18:58:40Z")
> [@Bad News Baboon](#): > > My vote for Mexico is Jose Luis Rodriguez. Agreed–We have 2 Jose Rodriguez(s), 1 Jose Luis Rodriguez and 2 Joe or Joey Rodriguez(s) in my company’s email directory. Granted, it’s a big company, and they may not all be Mexican, but at least 2 of them are. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-find-the-john-smith-name-for-every-nationality/248106/73 "2004-06-04T21:08:14Z")
I had thought it would be something like Jacob benIsaac. Or maybe Yeshua benYosef _G_ Seriously, I read in a discussion about Aaron Kominski as Jack the Ripper that the Scotland Yard suspect listed as David Cohen may have been Kominski as D.C. really was the Yard’s Jewish equivalent of John Doe. > [@Noone Special](#): > > Hebrew - by far the most popular last name is (yup, you guessed it) Cohen. Followed by (drumroll…) - Levi. So much for surprises… > Most popular first names might include Avi and Eli (short for Abraham, Elijah), but this is nowhere near as clear-cut, especially for younger people. > > So an “archtypical” Hebrew name might be _Avi Cohen_ or _Eli Cohen_. > > There is no real translation for “Every Tom, Dick and Harry” - One might conceivably use “Avraham Yitzhaq ve-Yaaqov”, but it just doesn’t carry yje same meaning. Normally it’s more like “Everyone [literally - ‘all of the nation of Israel’] and his wife (and their dog)”… [“Kol am Israel ve-Ishto (ve-ha-Kelev)” in Hebrew] but you do get archtypical **pairs** of names for telling stories/dialogs: usually “Reuven ve-Shimon” or “Shimon ve-Levy” (“ve-” means “and”). > > Dani > (another fairly common first name!) ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-find-the-john-smith-name-for-every-nationality/248106/74 "2004-06-04T22:02:30Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > I had thought it would be something like Jacob benIsaac. Most popular surname in Hebrew - **definitely** Cohen. As I mentioned in my first post, it’s very hard to pinpoint a “most popular” Given Name - Jacob and David could be in the running, too (although **all** of the “traditional” Jewish names seem to be somewhat less common in Israel nowadays - I don’t think there’s a single Avraham, Yitzhaq, Yaaqov **or** David in any of my children’s school classes!) > [@](#): > > Or maybe Yeshua benYosef _G_ Surely you mean Yehoshua **Bar** -Yosef ;j (I’ve always wanted to use this in context!) The guy spoke Aramaic, not Hebrew, in everyday life! Incidentally, should Yehoshua be considered as the very first “Christian Name”? 😃 > [@](#): > > Seriously, I read in a discussion about Aaron Kominski as Jack the Ripper that the Scotland Yard suspect listed as David Cohen may have been Kominski as D.C. really was the Yard’s Jewish equivalent of John Doe. Could well be - I’ve already said that there isn’t really a “most popular” first name in Hebrew. They certainly got the “Cohen” part right! Dani ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-find-the-john-smith-name-for-every-nationality/248106/75 "2004-06-05T04:09:38Z")
> [@notquitekarpov](#): > > To build on your forestry theme for the benefit of the passing traffic “de Olivera” originates from Olive (as in the tree) as well as being the surname of the first Prime Minister of Eire. You mean Eamon de Valera? ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-find-the-john-smith-name-for-every-nationality/248106/76 "2004-06-05T04:56:10Z")
> [@TroubleAgain](#): > > Agreed–We have 2 Jose Rodriguez(s), 1 Jose Luis Rodriguez and 2 Joe or Joey Rodriguez(s) in my company’s email directory. Granted, it’s a big company, and they may not all be Mexican, but at least 2 of them are. …and if they are Mexican, I would be willing to bet that one of them, if not all (!), is married to a Maria. ---
**Author:** ![joazito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@joazito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joazito)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-find-the-john-smith-name-for-every-nationality/248106/77 "2004-06-05T11:21:01Z")
> [@Rashak Mani](#): > > Brazil - José da Silva This goes for Portugal too, though I would probably drop the _da_ and maybe replace _José_ with _António_. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-find-the-john-smith-name-for-every-nationality/248106/78 "2004-06-05T11:59:07Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > IIRC, _Yahya_ (sp?) is the Arabic version of “John”. Get your Yahyas out. 🙂 [BehindtheName.com,](http://www.behindthename.com) my favorite names site, agrees with your spelling. They add that Muhammad is the most common Arabic name, and that “This name, with all of its variants, is perhaps the most popular in the world.” [This page over here](http://www.pdom.com/arabic_names.htm) suggests that the most common Arabic name is Ali. So that gives us… Muhammad Ali. Hmm. That name sorta feels taken, maybe we need a replacement. How’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-find-the-john-smith-name-for-every-nationality/248106.md?page=3)