# What are equivalents in other languages to "John Smith"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 23, 2008, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-equivalents-in-other-languages-to-john-smith/461058 "2008-08-23T23:17:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-equivalents-in-other-languages-to-john-smith/461058/41 "2008-08-24T13:57:07Z")
This thread brings to mind an exchange on a school-based sitcom whose name I don’t recall (I think Martin Mull played the teacher). Anglo student: “Well, how common is the name Jawaharlal anyway?” Jawaharlal, a student of Indian descent: “Half the people in India are called Jawaharlal.” Anglo student: “What are the other half called?” Jawaharlal: “Mrs. Jawaharlal.” ---
**Author:** ![Windwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/5e9695/32.png) [@Windwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Windwalker)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-equivalents-in-other-languages-to-john-smith/461058/42 "2008-08-24T14:46:41Z")
[QUOTE=CrazyChop] I am would sure that in most Chinese communities is Mr. Tan Given that 1. Tan is the most common surname ever 2. In the hanyu representation, lots of Chinese surnames translates to Tan. [/QUOTE] Is that the Mandarin version? The most common surnames I come across are probably: Li, Wang, Hu, Zhang, Chen, Liu, Zhao, Ma I don’t really know what the most common given names are, but I do know that Ming (the character that means brightness/intelligence/clarity/etc) is used a metric shit-ton, either by itself (e.g. Yao Ming, everyone’s favorite basketball giant), or with another (e.g. Zhao Yiming, my dentist). ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-equivalents-in-other-languages-to-john-smith/461058/43 "2008-08-24T15:20:07Z")
[QUOTE=Nava] **astorian** In Spain we used to say “Juan Español” to indicate “your average Spaniard.” I think the lastname Español (Spaniard) doesn’t even exist. [/QUOTE] Probably not. Names have been used to tell apart people with the same first name, so having a name like “español” that could apply to anybody would defeat the purpose. You would find people called “Lespagnol” in France, on the other hand. Given to people who moved from Spain to France, or maybe simply went once to Spain, making the name unique in the man’s community. That’s the reason why “Smith” (or its equivalent in other languages) is so common. There normally was only one smith in a village, so it was perfect to identify a particular man (as opposed to “Farmer” for instance). And there were smiths in almost all villages, making the name widespread. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-equivalents-in-other-languages-to-john-smith/461058/44 "2008-08-24T15:32:20Z")
[QUOTE=Jragon] Wikipedia also seems to have a list of “John Doe” equivalents in other languages now that I look, which backs up the “Mustermann” thing. > **[John Doe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Doe)** > > John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used in the British, Canadian, and American legal systems, when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed. In the context of law enforcement in the United States, such names are often used to refer to a corpse whose identity is unknown or cannot be confirmed. These names are also often used to refer to a hypothetical "everyman" in other contexts, like John Q. Public or "Joe Pu In oth... [/QUOTE] I looked at the part about France, and it’s incorrect. The names mentioned aren’t used in a legal context (except for “X”'. One commonly bring charges “against X”, for instance) They’re the equivalent of John Smith, not of John Doe. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-equivalents-in-other-languages-to-john-smith/461058/45 "2008-08-24T15:41:47Z")
[QUOTE=clairobscur] They’re the equivalent of John Smith, not of John Doe. [/QUOTE] Sorry. Just noticed that despite the article being about “John Doe”, the table actually lists the equivalents of “John Smith”. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-equivalents-in-other-languages-to-john-smith/461058/46 "2008-08-24T16:02:19Z")
[QUOTE=clairobscur] You would find people called “Lespagnol” in France, on the other hand. Given to people who moved from Spain to France, or maybe simply went once to Spain, making the name unique in the man’s community. [/QUOTE] FWIW, in this part of the US “L’Italien” is a common name (not like “LeBlanc”, though). The bulk of the ancestral-French population in New England came through Quebec and New Brunswick, FWIW. But I’ve never heard of anybody named “Le Canadien” or “L’Acadien”. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-equivalents-in-other-languages-to-john-smith/461058/47 "2008-08-24T16:10:19Z")
NOT a real name, but if you’re going for “Mr So-and-so” or “John Doe” in Spanish it’s Fulano (with his two friends, Mengano and Perengano) and in Arabic it’s Fulan, Abu-Fulan, al-Fulani, or a combination of the above. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-equivalents-in-other-languages-to-john-smith/461058/48 "2008-08-24T16:18:40Z")
Apparently the Italian for “Tom, Dick, and Harry” is ‘Tizio, Caio e Simpronio.’ I don’t know Italian, though, so I may be wrong about that. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-equivalents-in-other-languages-to-john-smith/461058/49 "2008-08-24T16:30:11Z")
The top ten real existing surnames in Dutch are: -De Jong (the Young) -Jansen or Janssen (Johnson) -De Vries (The Frisian) -Van de Berg (From the mountain) -Bakker (Baker) -Van Dijk (From the Dyke) -Visser (Fisher) -Smit (Smith) -De Boer (Farmer) Most common usage to indicate “everyman”, is the literal translation of the English “Tom, Dick and Harry” Which would be, in Dutch, “Jan, Piet of Klaas” . “John Smith” would be " Jan Janssen" but that isn’t used often. We don’t really have an expression for “John Doe”. “de onbekende” (the unknown) is closest. “John Q. Publiq” is translated as “Jan Publiek”. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-equivalents-in-other-languages-to-john-smith/461058/50 "2008-08-24T17:23:27Z")
[QUOTE=ElvisL1ves] FWIW, in this part of the US “L’Italien” is a common name (not like “LeBlanc”, though). The bulk of the ancestral-French population in New England came through Quebec and New Brunswick, FWIW. But I’ve never heard of anybody named “Le Canadien” or “L’Acadien”. [/QUOTE] Family names have been fixed long before Canadians moved to the USA, or even French people moved to Canada. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-equivalents-in-other-languages-to-john-smith/461058/51 "2008-08-24T17:24:32Z")
Certainment, monsieur. I should have put a smiley on that. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-equivalents-in-other-languages-to-john-smith/461058/52 "2008-08-24T17:39:21Z")
I have this totally suspect impression that everyone in Iceland has the last name of Guðmundsson or Guðmundsdóttir. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-equivalents-in-other-languages-to-john-smith/461058/53 "2008-08-24T19:16:32Z")
[QUOTE=clairobscur] That’s the reason why “Smith” (or its equivalent in other languages) is so common. There normally was only one smith in a village, so it was perfect to identify a particular man (as opposed to “Farmer” for instance). And there were smiths in almost all villages, making the name widespread. [/QUOTE] I was discussing this very thing with an African-American roommate I had years ago whose last name was Smith. He said, “That’s true. My great-grandfather was a blacksmith.” He was unsuccessful at keeping a straight face while he said it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-equivalents-in-other-languages-to-john-smith/461058/54 "2008-08-24T21:21:54Z")
Juan Valdez, Columbain Jan Kees, New York, pre revolution John Henry, American ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-equivalents-in-other-languages-to-john-smith/461058/55 "2008-08-24T21:23:40Z")
In Czech, Jan Kovář would be a literal “John Smith.” ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-equivalents-in-other-languages-to-john-smith/461058/56 "2008-08-24T21:33:58Z")
[QUOTE=Alessan] (Seriously… Hymie? What is that, Welsh? I’ve never met a Hymie in my life). [/QUOTE] Hymie Goldberg might be your stereotypical New York Jewish name, but I’d be very surprised to see someone with that name in Israel. And “Avi Cohen” sounds so much better anyway. Hymie is, I believe, a diminutive form of Hyman. I’ve read on this very board that some Jews in North America tended to give their children names that were relatively common “English” names, but at the same time sounded like traditional Jewish names. In time, these names became associated with Jews as well. Hyman is supposed to sound somewhat like “Chaim”. [QUOTE=clairobscur] There normally was only one smith in a village, so it was perfect to identify a particular man (as opposed to “Farmer” for instance). [/QUOTE] However, “Farmer” is a common last name anyway. [QUOTE=ElvisL1ves] FWIW, in this part of the US “L’Italien” is a common name (not like “LeBlanc”, though). [/QUOTE] Lallemand and Langlois are also relatively common French-Canadian names (very common, in the case of Langlois). In Quebec, John Smith would probably be called Tremblay, but I’m not sure what his first name would be (presumably Jean). But, as **Jragon** ’s link suggests, “Joe Blow” is used as well to refer to an unknown person. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-equivalents-in-other-languages-to-john-smith/461058/57 "2008-08-24T21:38:41Z")
Paddy Murphy, Paddy Reilly. The literal one would be Sean MacGabhainn. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-equivalents-in-other-languages-to-john-smith/461058/58 "2008-08-24T21:47:10Z")
Is this true in Irish as well (Pádraigín Ó Mhurchú or what have you)? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-equivalents-in-other-languages-to-john-smith/461058/59 "2008-08-24T22:16:05Z")
I do not know **Dr. Drake**. ---
**Author:** ![fortytwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f9ae1b/32.png) [@fortytwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fortytwo)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-equivalents-in-other-languages-to-john-smith/461058/60 "2008-08-24T22:47:56Z")
[QUOTE=Alessan] No. No, it isn’t. (Seriously… Hymie? What is that, Welsh? I’ve never met a Hymie in my life). [/QUOTE] Seriously… what is that?, a joke? I’m sure you know that Hymie is the diminutive of Hyman, a masculine Yiddish name. You want to get out more. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-equivalents-in-other-languages-to-john-smith/461058.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-equivalents-in-other-languages-to-john-smith/461058.md?page=4)