# Why is John the Hero's name? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 30, 2009, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-john-the-heros-name/498124 "2009-05-30T05:06:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-john-the-heros-name/498124/1 "2009-05-30T05:06:41Z")
Maybe it’s just action movies, but why is the hero’s first name John? John Spartan - Demolition Man John Connor - Terminator Series John Matrix - Commando John Rambo - Duhhh John McClane - Die Hard Series John Kruger - Eraser John Book - Witness John Cutter - Passenger 57 Jack Ryan - Jack Slater - Last Action Hero Ivan (Russian for John) Danko - Red Heat Johnny Kelly - Johnny Dangerously and uhhhh John Bender - Breakfast Club Is it an actor thing? Hollywood laziness? What? And did I forget any other Johns? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-john-the-heros-name/498124/2 "2009-05-30T05:17:33Z")
Because it’s common and generic, and because it’s like the color black, it matches with anything in terms of a last name. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-john-the-heros-name/498124/3 "2009-05-30T05:29:21Z")
_John_ was the most common masculine given name in England and the U.S. for hundreds of years, and even now it’s in the top 20 names for baby boys in the U.S., so it has sort of a timeless everyman quality to it. _Jack_ isn’t always a nickname for _John_; it’s also a popular given name in its own right. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-john-the-heros-name/498124/4 "2009-05-30T05:34:34Z")
You got a couple of Jacks, but I suspect that you’d get a pretty even list between the two. (Jack Bauer, Jack Sparrow, Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack Burton, Jack Skellington, Jack Shephard, etc.) The reason is that they have come to signify a particular role. The name adds to the character. ---
**Author:** ![Damfino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Damfino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damfino)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-john-the-heros-name/498124/5 "2009-05-30T11:50:43Z")
Hero : Jack Aubrey Villain: Jack the Ripper ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-john-the-heros-name/498124/6 "2009-05-30T13:43:04Z")
Farscape: John Crichton Babylon 5: John Sheridan ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-john-the-heros-name/498124/7 "2009-05-30T14:12:09Z")
And it’s a good, solid-sounding name, that makes you think of good, solid, strong people. I’d have a hard time if we were to believe a Dustin or Shelby or Percy was in charge of saving the world, or my life. The Dustins, Percys and Shelbys I know, or knew as children, were not the hero types! How their mothers knew that before birth, I’ll never know. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-john-the-heros-name/498124/8 "2009-05-30T14:17:09Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > And it’s a good, solid-sounding name, that makes you think of good, solid, strong people. I’d have a hard time if we were to believe a Dustin or Shelby or Percy was in charge of saving the world, or my life. The Dustins, Percys and Shelbys I know, or knew as children, were not the hero types! How their mothers knew that before birth, I’ll never know. In the book The Scarlet Pimpernel the name of the hero was Percy Blakenley. But you’re still right, it’s an exception to the general rule. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-john-the-heros-name/498124/9 "2009-05-30T14:45:05Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Because it’s common and generic John Doe John Q Public ---
**Author:** ![Bartman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bartman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bartman)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-john-the-heros-name/498124/10 "2009-05-30T14:48:58Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > In the book The Scarlet Pimpernel the name of the hero was Percy Blakenley. But you’re still right, it’s an exception to the general rule. Yes and he used a nom de guerre when engaging in heroics. When people called him Percy they were refering to the foppish british dandy Sir Percy Blankeny, Baronet. So I’m not quite sure it is a full exception. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-john-the-heros-name/498124/11 "2009-05-30T14:49:12Z")
John 117 (Master Chief) - Halo Series Video Game ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-john-the-heros-name/498124/12 "2009-05-30T17:10:41Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > _John_ was the most common masculine given name in England and the U.S. for hundreds of years, and even now it’s in the top 20 names for baby boys in the U.S., so it has sort of a timeless everyman quality to it. Hence, John Doe, John Bull, John Q. Public, etc. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-john-the-heros-name/498124/13 "2009-05-30T17:56:52Z")
John Galt. And don’t ask “Who?” ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-john-the-heros-name/498124/14 "2009-05-30T18:25:28Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > John Galt. > > And don’t ask “Who?” A is A; the universal truth ---
**Author:** ![Jettboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@Jettboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jettboy)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-john-the-heros-name/498124/15 "2009-05-30T18:31:55Z")
It’s also odd that all of those guys who get busted for soliciting a prostitute are _all_ named John. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-john-the-heros-name/498124/16 "2009-05-30T18:36:11Z")
“Every Tom, Dick, and Harry’s named John.” ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-john-the-heros-name/498124/17 "2009-05-30T21:27:53Z")
It’s about as Anglo as you can get, and Anglo = good in western culture. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-john-the-heros-name/498124/18 "2009-05-30T21:31:39Z")
And I loves me some Jonathon Mayer weiners. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-john-the-heros-name/498124/19 "2009-05-30T23:15:18Z")
When you get down to the framework of the mythology of the Hero, John fits right in. The name means “gift from God.” I looked it up long ago, because my parents were John and Jane, with identical meanings. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2009, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-john-the-heros-name/498124/20 "2009-05-30T23:20:45Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > . . . my parents were John and Jane . . . They might have known my parents, Jack and Jean. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-john-the-heros-name/498124.md?page=2)