Arabic • Fulān (male: ), Fulāna (female: ), also (male with family name: Fulān al-Fulani)
Argentina •
María Victoria Villareal, Manuela Martínez, and Manuela Fernández have been used in
National Identity Cards (DNI) specimens. • Virgilio Portillo is a non-citizen, typically a Paraguayan. • Juan Pérez is used colloquially as a generic male full name. • Fulano, Mengano, Zutano, three fake names, were used in the past as 'some guy,' as in "On his way to work he ran into Fulano [some guy] and they spoke for a while."
Australia In Australia, the term
Man on the Clapham omnibus inspired the New South Wales and Victorian equivalents, "the man on the Bondi tram" (a now disused tram route in Sydney), "the man on the
Bourke Street tram" (
Melbourne), and "the ordinary person on the Belconnen omnibus" (Canberra).
Austria • Hans Meier / Maier / Mayer • Herr und Frau Österreicher (Mr and Mrs
Austrian)
Belgium (Dutch) •
Jan met de pet ("John with the cap")
Bulgaria • "Сульо и пульо" (
sulyo i pulyo, Poor and Blind), used for "anyone and everyone", albeit in a more insulting sense, implying that the person/people you're talking about are lowly, ignorant, of little means, or otherwise unqualified. • Another term with a similar connotation to the one above is "куцо и сакато" (
kutso i sakato, Limp and Lame). • Another term for "anyone and everyone" is "Иван, Драган и Петкан" (Ivan, Dragan and Petkan) or just "Драган и Петкан" (Dragan and Petkan), this time using names. Ivan is the most common name in Bulgarian, while Dragan and Petkan are chosen due to them rhyming with the name Ivan. This term is more generally applicable to "everyone" or "the average person" due to its relative lack of a negative connotation. • "Филанкишия(та)" (
Filankishiya(ta), the unknown one), a term that could mean "anyone" but more directly means "someone non-existent". Both the indefinite form, филанкишия, and the definite form, филанкишията, are used. Note: All of the terms listed for Bulgarian are strictly colloquialisms and hold no formal or official status.
Colombia • Pepito or Pepita Pérez (lit. "Little Joe Pérez" or "Little Josephine Pérez"), used due to its alliterative sound.
Czechia • Jan Novák ("John/Jon Newman"), Jana Nováková ("Jane Newman"); the most common
Czech name and surname • Otakar Všudybyl ("Ottokar Waseverywhere") and Jana Zcestovalá ("Jane Welltraveled"), used on travelcards or ID cards samples • BFU (Běžný Franta Uživatel, "Basic User Frank"), meaning "brain free user"
Denmark • Hr. og Fru Danmark (Mr. and Mrs. Denmark) • Hr. og Fru
Hakkebøf (Mr. and Mrs.
Beef Patty)
Estonia • Inimene tänavalt (Person from the street)
Finland • Matti Meikäläinen (male) Maija Meikäläinen (female).
France • Usable as a common word: Pierre-Paul-Jacques (with the meaning of "Someone"); • Random people (similar to Average John/Jane): Monsieur/Madame Tout-le-monde (Mr/Mrs Everyone),
Untel/Unetelle (Mr/Mrs NoName; literally, “a such” and thus similar to the English “so-and-so”),
Madame Michu (only female), (M./Mme)
Tartempion (familiar and a little satirical); • Other: • (M./Mme)
Machin/Machine (familiar terms, used when one does not wish take the trouble to think of a more specific term); • (Un)
Gazier originally, a man who worked in gas transport; nowadays, it is a familiar way to say "Someone" (mostly for a man; this term is rare for women, and in such case, the correct word is the feminine form "Gazière"). • (Un)
Quidam: someone whose identity is unknown or cannot be disclosed. See also :fr:wikt:Tartempion#Synonymes
Germany • Max Mustermann (Max Sample Man, for men), Erika Mustermann (Erika Sample Man, for women), since 1978. More recently, other first names have also been used in specific context, such as Leon Mustermann (sample children's passport), Cleopâtre Mustermann (sample travel document for foreigners), or Manu Musterperson (Manu Sample Person, as a gender-neutral form). •
Otto Normalverbraucher (Otto Normal Consumer) for economics related purposes
Greater China • (
pinyin:
Xiǎomíng,
Jyutping:
siu2 ming4,
Wugniu:
3siau-min2), a common generic name used in educational or comedic situations. • (
pinyin:
Mǒumǒu,
Jyutping:
mau5 mau5,
Wugniu:
4meu-meu4), (
pinyin:
Mǒujiǎ,
Jyutping:
mau5 gaap3,
Wugniu:
4meu-ciaq7), (
pinyin:
Mǒuyǐ,
Jyutping:
mau5 jyut3,
Wugniu:
4meu-iq7), etc., equivalent to "Person A, Person B, etc."; meaning "a certain".
Heavenly stems are often used to number the unspecified people.
Mainland China • (
pinyin:
Líu Yī), (
Chén Èr), (
Zhāng Sān), (
Lǐ Sì), (
Wáng Wǔ), (
Zhào Lìu), (
Sūn Qī), (
Zhōu Bā), (
Wǔ Jiǔ), (
Zhèng Shí), all following the scheme of a common surname followed by a number • (
Dōngdōng), (
Niǔniǔ), (
Níní) for children
Hong Kong • (
Jyutping:
can4 daai6 man4) (male) and (
Jyutping:
can4 siu2 mei5) (female) • (
Jyutping:
lok6 wing5 cing4) or Lok Wing Ching, the name currently used on the sample identity card. • In Hong Kong, there is an expression equivalent to "
Man on the Clapham omnibus": "the man on the
Shau Kei Wan tram".
Taiwan • (
pinyin:
Zhìmíng,
POJ:
Chì-bêng) (male) and (
pinyin:
Chūnjiāo,
POJ:
Chhun-kiau) (female)
India (and Pakistan) •
Aam Aadmi -- literally meaning "ordinary person" in Hindi • Ashok Kumar has been used in multiple court cases as a placeholder name as well • In Pakistan, mainly where the languages are more influenced by Persian, they use Falan as a placeholder more commonly
Ireland • Tadhg an mhargaidh ("Tadhg of the market")
Italy • Mario Rossi, a very common name • Pinco Pallino, a made up name • Tal dei Tali, a made up name with the meaning of “so-and-so of all the so-and-sos”, i.e., a particular so-and-so) • Signor Nessuno ("Mr. Nobody") • "Tizio, Caio e Sempronio" equivalent to "Tom, Dick and Harry". Originated from
Tiberius,
Gaius and
Sempronius Gracchus.
Japan • (male) • (female)
Malaysia • Cik Kiah (Ms. Kiah), a derivative of the name Makcik Kiah (auntie Kiah), a name made up by
PM Tan Sri Muhyiddin to illustrate an average Malaysian: a
Pisang goreng seller earning the median rural income.
México Fulano, mengano, zutano, and perengano are words that are used to refer to someone when their name is not known or is not wanted to be said.
Netherlands •
Jan Modaal ("John Modal"), used to refer to those with a median income •
Henk en Ingrid, used by politician
Geert Wilders •
Jan met de pet ("John with the cap")
Nigeria •
Lagbaja, literally ‘someone’ in the Yoruba language.
Norway •
Ola Nordmann (male), Kari Nordmann (female), common Norwegian first names and a surname that literally translates to "Norwegian"
Persian-speaking countries (e.g. Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan) • فلانی (Folānī): Loan word from Arabic, which is used in Persian for both male and female subjects. • یارو (Yarū): Mainly derogatory, and associated strongly with the Tehrani dialect. Is used to mean "that person over there".
Philippines •
Juan dela Cruz (male), María dela Cruz or Juana dela Cruz (female)
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". • Iksiński a surname formed in accordance with the rules of creating
Polish surnames with the common suffix -ski/-ska, but the basis for its creation was the letter X (pronounced "iks" in Polish), which is used to denote unknowns (e.g. in mathematical operations). It is used especially in situations where one wants to emphasise that the person one is talking about is not anyone in particular or that the identity of that person cannot be given. When talking about another such person in a single utterance, one can use the surname Igrekowski, which is derived from the letter Y (pronounced in Polish as "igrek"). Both surnames also have female forms, Iksińska and Igrekowska respectively. No living Polish citizen bears these surnames (as of 2024).
Portugal/Brazil •
Fulano (from Arabic), Sicrano (unknown etymology), Beltrano (from given name Beltrão) "Fulano, Sicrano e Beltrano" equivalent to "Tom, Dick and Harry" • Zé Ninguém (literally Joe Nobody), equivalent to “Mister Nobody”
Romania • Cutărescu, general term used in order to avoid a specific surname; a no-name
Russia Common placeholder first names in Russia are Ivan and Pyotr, due to their ubiquity. Their placeholder function may be seen in old Russian textbooks: in arithmetical problems or sentences to illustrate grammar. 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 is a relatively new phenomenon that was unknown in the early 20th century. Ivanov, being derived from the most common first name, is a placeholder for an arbitrary person. In its plural form, "Ivanovs", it may be used as a placeholder for a group of people. There is a military joke: The sergeant asks the rookies: "Your surnames!" - "Ivanov!", "Petrov!", "Sidorov!" - "Are you brothers?" - "No, we are namesakes, sir!"
Serbia Petar Petrović is the most often used name in examples of how to fill out documents, payment slips etc, alongside the street name Petra Petrovića and the town of
Petrovac. Other names: Jovan Jovanović, Marko Marković, Lazar Lazarević, Ivan Ivanović.
Spain •
Fulano, from Arabic,
Mengano,
Zutano. "Fulano, Mengano y Zutano" equivalent to "Tom, Dick and Harry" •
Perico el de los palotes Sweden • Svensson (a common surname) or
Medelsvensson (literally "middle/average Svensson")
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')
United Kingdom •
Fred Bloggs or Joe Bloggs •
Joe Public •
John Smith •
Man on the Clapham omnibus •
Tom, Dick and Harry Scotland •
Jock Tamson United States and Canada card featuring John Q. Public •
John Smith •
John Doe and
Jane Doe •
John Q. Public • Joe the Plumber •
Tom, Dick and Harry •
Average Joe •
Joe Sixpack •
Joe Shmoe/Joe Blow • Private Snuffy or Joe Snuffy (used in the
US Army)
Yiddish • Chaim Yankel ==See also==