John Doe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see John Doe (disambiguation).

The name John Doe is typically used in the United States as a placeholder name for a male party in a legal action or legal discussion whose true identity is unknown. Male corpses or emergency room patients whose identity is unknown are also known by the name John Doe. A female who is not known is often referred to as Jane Doe. A child or baby whose identity is unknown can be referred to as Baby Doe, or in one particular case, as Precious Doe. Additional people in the same family may be called James Doe, Judy Doe, etc. Commonly used in the United States of America, though rarely used now in developed countries.

The Doe names are often, though not always, used for anonymous or unknown defendants. Another set of names often used for anonymous parties, particularly plaintiffs, are Richard Roe for males and Jane Roe for females (as in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court abortion decision Roe v. Wade). The Oxford English Dictionary states that John Doe is "the name given to the fictitious lessee of the plaintiff, in the (now obsolete) mixed action of ejectment, the fictitious defendant being called Richard Roe". Likewise, the Nuttall Encyclopaedia states that John O'Noakes or John Noakes is a fictitious name for a litigious person, used by lawyers in actions of ejectment.

Even outside the specific legal context, the name John Doe is often used in general discourse and popular culture to refer to an unknown person. A famous example is the Frank Capra film Meet John Doe.

Contents 1 History 2 Informal names for unknown or unspecified persons in various countries/regions 3 John/Jane Doe in popular culture 3.1 Books 3.2 Comics 3.3 Court Cases 3.4 Film 3.5 Music 3.6 Television 3.7 Video Games 4 See also

[edit] History

The "John Doe" custom dates back to the reign of England's King Edward III, during the legal debate over something called the Acts of Ejectment. This debate involved a hypothetical landowner, referred to as "John Doe," who leased land to another man, the equally fictitious "Richard Roe," who then took the land as his own and "ejected," or evicted, poor "John Doe."

These names -- John Doe and Richard Roe -- had no particular significance, aside from "Doe" (a female deer) and "Roe" (a small species of deer found in Europe) being commonly known nouns at the time. But the debate became a hallmark of legal theory, and the name "John Doe" in particular gained wide currency in both the legal world and general usage as a generic stand-in for any unnamed person. "John Doe" and "Richard Roe" are, to this day, mandated in legal procedure as the first and second names given to unknown defendants in a case (followed, if necessary, by "John Stiles" and "Richard Miles"). The name "Jane Doe," a logical female equivalent, is used in many state jurisdictions, but if the case is federal, the unnamed defendant is dubbed "Mary Major."

In Friedman v. Ferguson, 850 F.2d 689 (4th Cir. 1988), the plaintiff pro se somewhat famously used the following creative variations on John Doe: Brett Boe, Carla Coe, Donna Doe, Frank Foe, Grace Goe, Harry Hoe, Marta Moe, Norma Noe, Paula Poe, Ralph Roe, Sammy Soe, Tommy Toe, Vince Voe, William Woe, Xerxes Xoe.

[edit] Informal names for unknown or unspecified persons in various countries/regions

Different fictitious names are used for unknown or unspecified persons in different countries in an informal context, rather than in a court of law or similar. These names are generally understood to be generic.

Arabia	Fulan (Arabic: فلان) (female equivalent: Fulanah, فلانة), Ellan (علان) as a partner. Majhoul (Arabic: مجهول). Taken further, it can become Fulan al-Fulani, or even Fulan ibn Fulan al-Fulani, depending on the intention of the speaker.
Argentina	Juan Pérez, Don Nadie, Fulano, Mengano, Zutano, Perengano
Australia	Fred Nerk, Joe Blow, Joe Bloggs, John Citizen, Joe Farnarkle, John Barry, Simon McCool
Austria	Hans Meier, Hans Maier, Hans Mayer, Max Muster(mann), Herr und Frau Österreicher
Belgium	Jean Dupont, Jan Janssen, Jos Joskens, Duschmol, Duchien
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Marko Markovic, Petar Petrovic, Sima Simic
Brazil	Fulano (de Tal), Sicrano, Beltrano, João da Silva, Zé da Silva, Zé Ninguém, Zé das Couves, Dunha.
Bulgaria	Иван Иванов (Ivan Ivanov), лицето Х (the person X).
Canada	G. Raymond (male/female, mostly on credit cards and ID, used as could be either an anglophone or Francophone name), John Jones, Jos Bleau (Quebec, French adaptation of Joe Blow)
Chile	Juan Pérez, Fulano de Tal, Perico de los Palotes, N.N. ("Ningún Nombre" or No Name).
China	无名氏 (Pinyin: Wúmíng Shì, literally "Mr./Ms. No Name"); 某某 (Pinyin: Mǒu Mǒu, literally "so-and-so"); (using the List of common Chinese surnames with numbers, etc.) 赵大 (Pinyin: Zhào Dà, literally "Zhao Big"), 钱二 (Pinyin: Qián Èr, "Qian 2"), 孙三 (Pinyin: Sūn Sān, "Sun 3"), 张三 (Pinyin: Zhāng Sān, "Zhang 3"), 李四 (Pinyin: Lǐ Sì, "Li 4"), 王五 (Pinyin: Wáng Wǔ, "Wang 5"), ...; (using the Heavenly Stems) 某甲 (Pinyin: Mǒu Jiǎ, literally "a certain A"), 某乙 (Pinyin: Mǒu Yǐ, "a certain B"), 某丙 (Pinyin: Mǒu Bǐng, "a certain C"), ...; 小强，小明...
Colombia	Fulano de Tal (probably from Arabic, Fulan), Pepito Pérez, Sultano, Mengano, Perencejo
Croatia	Ivan Horvat, Pero Perić, N.N. ("Nepoznati Netko", trns. "Unknown someone")
Cuba	Fulano, Mengano, Ciclano, Esperancejo (female equivalents: Fulana, Mengana, Ciclana, Esperanceja.) Optional surname: de Tal ("of such")
Czech Republic	Jan Novák, Karel Vomáčka, Tomáš Martiník, Jan Skočdopole
Denmark	N.N.
Ecuador	Juan Perez, Fulano, Sultano, Mengano, Juan Piguabe
Estonia	Jaan Tamm (male), Tädi Maali (an old female, literally "Aunt Maali")
Faroe Islands	Miðalhampamaður
Finland	Matti Meikäläinen (male/generic) and Maija Meikäläinen (female). Pihtiputaan mummo ("the Grandma/old lady from Pihtipudas") refers to the senior citizen not conversant in modern jargon or technical terminology, to whom things have to be explained clearly.
France	Jean Dupont, Paul Martin, Monsieur Durand, Monsieur Untel/ Madame Unetelle, Monsieur/Madame X, Pierre-Paul-Jacques (even though those are three very common, typical distinct surnames, this is often said as a long uninterrupted string, as if an actual composed surname: "or" is added in the middle sometimes: "Pierre-Paul-ou-Jacques")
Germany	Hans/Max/Otto and Erika Mustermann, Lieschen Müller, Otto Normalverbraucher, Meier/Müller/Schulze, Hinz & Kunz, NN
Greece	Γιῶργος Τάδε (Giorgos Tade, male), Μαρία Τάδε (Maria Tade, female), Τάδε Ταδόπουλος (Tade Tadopoulos, male), Τάδε Ταδοπούλου (Tade Tadopulou, female), ὁ/ἡ Δείνα (his partner), ὁ Φούφουτος (O Foufoutos), Ἕνας Κάποιος (Enas Kapoios), Γιάννης Φάλας (Giannes Falas)
Guatemala	Juan Pérez, Fulano, Sutano (or Zutano), Mengano, Perencejo
Hong Kong and Macau	陳大文 (male), 陳小明 (boy).
Hungary	Gipsz Jakab, Kovács János (John Smith), Jóska Pista, Pityi Palkó, XY
Iceland	Meðal-Jón, Meðal-Jóna, Jón Jónsson, Jóna Jónsdóttir
India	Naamalum (Used in judicial purposes as well, for male, female and child alike) नामालुम (in Devnagri). Translates directly into "unknown."
Indonesia	Si Anu / Fulan
Iran	Folani (Persian : فُلانی), Felani (Persian : فلانی), Yaroo (Persian : ِیارو)
Ireland	Seán and Síle Citizen; Irish: Seán Ó Rudaí, from rud = thing
Israel	Israel Israeli ישראל ישראלי and also Ploni פלוני and Almoni אלמוני (as a party to Ploni) or the latter combined to Ploni Almoni (taken from Ruth 4:1, where it is used in place of the actual name of Boaz's relative, whose name is omitted as he failed to perform his levirate duty).
Italy	Mario Rossi, Pinco Pallino, Tal dei Tali, Tizio, Caio, Sempronio.
Japan	山田太郎 (Yamada Taro, a common male name), 山田花子 (Yamada Hanako, a common female name), 名無しの権兵衛 (Nanashi-no-Gombee, 名無しの meaning nameless, 兵衛 (hyoue) meaning member of the imperial guard and 権 (gon) being used to describe titles or positions, "Nameless member of the imperial guard". The term was transformed into nanashi-gonbee, meaning colloquial "Nameless Mr. So-and-so), 何野某 (Nanno Nanigashi), 土左衛門 (Dozaemon, a drowned corpse)
Korea	홍길동 (洪吉童, Hong Gil-dong; male), 심청 (沈淸, Shim Cheong; female) 철수 (Cheol-soo, male), 영희 (Yeong-hee; female)
Latvia	Jānis Bērziņš
Lebanon	Majhoul (Arabic: مجهول), Folan (Arabic: فلان) (female equivalent: Folana, فلانة), Elan (علان) as a partner.
Lithuania	Vardenis Pavardenis, Jonas Jonaitis, Petras Petraitis
Macedonia	Петар Петровски (Petar Petrovski)
Malaysia	Si Anu, Si Polan, Si Polan Bin Si Polan, Mat & Minah
Malta	Joe Borg
Mauritius	Sa Nation la, Sa boug la (for male) ; Safame la, Sapitin la (for female)
Mexico	Juan/Juanito/Juanita Pérez, Fulano de Tal, Mengano, Perengano, Sutano, Juan Pueblo
Netherlands	Jan Jansen. Jan Modaal is used in a similar way to the English the Joneses, in particular referring to average wealth
Nepal	Ram, Shyam, Hari, and other slangs such as Chamar, Ram Kumar Deshar, Sigdel, and Jyapu.
New Zealand	Joe Bloggs, John Doe, Joe Blow
Nigeria	Lagbaja
Norway	N.N, Ola Nordmann, Kari Nordmann
Pakistan	Falana (Male), Falani (Female). This is derived from the Persian equivalent
Panama	Juan Pérez, Fulano de Tal, Sultano, Mengano
Paraguay	Juan Pérez, Fulano de Tal, Sultano, Mengano, N.N.
Peru	Juan Pérez, Fulano de Tal, Sultano, Mengano
Philippines	Juan dela Cruz, Juanita dela Cruz
Poland	N.N. ("unknown"--used to refer to e.g. unknown soldiers at war); Jan Kowalski, Jan Nowak (used in the meaning of "everyman", an average citizen)
Portugal	Fulano, Sicrano, Beltrano, Indivíduo, Tipo, Gajo, Zé da Silva, Homenzinho, Mulherzinha, Rapazinho, Zé Povinho.
Puerto Rico	Fulano de Tal, Juan Perez, or Juan del Pueblo
Romania	Ion Popescu
Russia	Иванов Иван Иванович (Ivanov Ivan Ivanovich), Петров и Сидоров (Petrov and Sidorov), Вася Пупкин (Vasya Pupkin), имярек (old slavonic abbreviation of имя рекомое, that is "name to be spoken". Still usable; not a name, but a reference to a person, usually in context of filling in a form)
Serbia	In legal documents, police and court, NN lice (NN person) is used. Everyday equivalents are: Petar Petrović, Pera Perić, Marko Marković, Janko Janković.
Slovakia	Ján Novák, (humorously) Jožko Mrkvička
Slovenia	Janez Novak
South Africa	Koos van der Merwe, Piet Pompies
Spain	Fulano de Tal, Pepe Pérez, Fulano, Fulanito, Mengano, Menganito, Perico de los Palotes, Fulanito de Tal, Menganito de Cual, Zutano, Zutanito, Sultano, Sultanito, Don Nadie, Juan Nadie, Perengano. Female equivalent: Fulanita, Fulanita de Tal, Mengana, Menganita, Menganita de Tal.
Sweden	(Herr/Fru) Svensson, Medelsvensson for the average Swede; Kalle, Olle, Pelle, Nisse and Lisa are pretty common when a name is needed as an example. "Name Name" (Swedish: Namn Namn or NN from Latin Nomen Nescio) is used as a placeholder.
Switzerland	Herr und Frau Schweizer, Hans Meier, Hans Mustermann
Thailand	นาย ก. (Nai Gor, literally Mr. Gor), นาง ก. (Nang Gor, literally Mrs. Gor). Note that ก. (Gor) is the first letter in Thai alphabet. Other people in the story are named after subsequent letters: ข (Kor, with high pitch) ค (Kor, with low pitch), etc.
Turkey	Sarı çizmeli Mehmet Ağa
United Kingdom	Joe Bloggs, John Smith, A N Other, R Punter, "Tom, Dick, and Harry", Ronnie (or Ronny) Arbuckle
Uruguay	Fulano, Mengano; Juan Perez
USA	John Doe, Jane Doe, John Q. Public, Joe Blow, Joe Schmoe, Joe Sixpack, John Smith, Eddie Punchclock (for blue-collar workers), Joe Botts (particularly in New York City), J. S. Ragman (U. S. Navy)
Venezuela	Fulano, Fulano de Tal, Sutano, Mengano, Perencejo, Pedro Perez, Perico de los Palotes, Juan Bimba
Vietnam	Người dấu tên, Nguyễn Văn A (male), Trần Thị B (female)

[edit] John/Jane Doe in popular culture

[edit] Books

• John Doe is a Secret Service agent in the Dan Gutman book The Kid Who Became President.
• John is the name used for the narrator/protagonist in the novel Fight Club to describe that it could have been anyone.
• John Doe is a character in the book Jpod by Douglas Coupland.

[edit] Comics

• John Doe is a comic, edited in Italy by Eura Editoriale.
• The phonetically similar John Dough was used by the Joker, a DC Comics villain. This pseudonym is notable because in this guise, he was able to convince Snapper Carr, the mascot of the Justice League, to give up the location of their original base, the Secret Sanctuary, prompting a move to the more famous JLA satellite.

[edit] Court Cases

• The landmark 1973 Supreme Court abortion case Roe v. Wade gets half of its name from Jane Roe (an anonymous plaintiff) who was later revealed to be Norma McCorvey.

[edit] Film

• Meet John Doe is a film directed by Frank Capra and starring Gary Cooper.
• Jane Doe is the assumed name of an alien character in Galaxy Quest played by actress Missi Pyle.
• John Doe was the pseudonym of a character in the sixth Nightmare on Elm Street film. He was the last teenager in the fictional town of Springwood, Ohio.
• John Doe Jersey is the name given by the press to the incarnation of God in Dogma.
• Johnny Dough, a play on "John Doe," is Dirk Diggler's rival actor in Boogie Nights.
• Jonathan Doe is the name of the serial killer played by Kevin Spacey in Se7en.

[edit] Music

• John Doe was the stage name of John Duchac, founder of seminal punk rock band X.
• Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach (American rock band) fame used "J. Doe" as his stage name for his side-project band, Fight The Sky.
• "John Doe" is a song from the thrash metal band Testament on their album Demonic.
• "Jane Doe" is a song by hard rock band Mr. Big from their album Hey Man released in 1996.
• "Jane Doe" is a song by symphonic metal band Within Temptation
• "Jane Doe" is a song by Alicia Keys
• Jane Doe is an album by metalcore band Converge
• In the Red Hot Chili Peppers song "Midnight", there is a reference to John and Jane Doe when it is sung: "Say it now 'cause John and Jane would like to know".

[edit] Television

• John Doe is a 2002 Fox Broadcasting Company series starring Dominic Purcell, currently playing on the SciFi Channel.
• "John Doe" is the title of an X-Files episode (Season 9, Episode 7)
• "John Doe" is the title of a Prison Break episode (Season 2, Episode 14)
• "Baby Boy Doe" is the title of a Family Ties episode (Season 2, Episode 19)
• Many unidentified victims in the crime drama series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (all shows, including spin-offs) are called John and Jane Doe until their ID is found.
• Jane Doe is a series of made-for-TV movies on the Hallmark Channel starring Lea Thompson.
• "Jane Doe" is the leader of the "Squirrel Scouts" in the animated series "Camp Lazlo"; the name is a pun on the fact that she is in fact a female deer.
• "Jane doe" is the name given to a character who has no memory of her past in Grey's Anatomy.
• " John Doe" is the name given to a character who actually called Tempus in Lois And Clark

[edit] Video Games

• Jane Doe is the name of an unknown quest character in the computer game Maple Story.
• In Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Naked Snake uses the pseudonym "John Doe" when asked for his name by Para-Medic. In turn, when Snake asks Para-Medic for her name, she responds with "Jane Doe". During the final confrontation with Ocelot, when the two exchange names, Snake identifies himself as "John" to Ocelot's "Adamska".
• In Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All, assassin Shelly de Killer disguises himself as a Butler, and when asked his name, he replies "John Doe."
• In Twisted Metal: Black, one character from the asylum is named John Doe.

[edit] See also

• Everyman
• Legal fiction
• Numerius Negidius
• A. N. Other
• N.N. (Nomen nescio)
• Pseudonym
• John Smith
• John Q. Public
• Alice and Bob
• Keeping up with the Joneses
• Placeholder name
• Alan Smithee
• Jock Tamson's bairns
• Fnu Lnu
• Ola Nordmann