Here is a list of terms referring to an average person. Many are used as

placeholder name Placeholder names are words that can refer to things or people whose names do not exist, are temporarily forgotten, are not relevant to the salient point at hand, are to avoid stigmatization, are unknowable/unpredictable in the context in wh ...

Unsorted

Everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin The term ''everyman'' was used as early as ...

* T.C. Mits *

Man on the Clapham omnibus The man on the Clapham omnibus is a hypothetical ordinary and reasonable person, used by the courts in English law where it is necessary to decide whether a party has acted as a reasonable person would – for example, in a civil action for negl ...

* Average Joe *

Reasonable person In law, a reasonable person, reasonable man, or the man on the Clapham omnibus, is a hypothetical person of legal fiction crafted by the courts and communicated through case law and jury instructions. Strictly according to the fiction, it i ...

Standard person The standard person or reference person is a theoretical individual that has perfectly "normal" characteristics. This model is used for much research into radiation safety. For many years, the standard person was called reference man because the w ...

* Joe Blow

By culture

Arab World

Fulan (male: فلان) Fulana (female: فلانة)

Australia

* Old mate * Man on the Bondi tram (in legal context in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

)

Austria

* Hans Meier / Maier / Mayer * Herr und Frau Österreicher (Mr and Mrs

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

)

Brazil

* João or Joãozinho, Maria ou Mariazinha * "Zé Ninguém" ( "Joe Nobody" ) and similars ("Zé Arruela" meaning "Joe Washer" as an offense). * "Fulano" or "Fulano de tal"

Denmark

* Hr. og Fru Danmark (Mr. and Mrs. Denmark)

Finland

Matti Meikäläinen (male, literally "our Matti"), Maija Meikäläinen (female, literally "our Maija")

France

* Very popular names (similar to John/Jane Doe): Jean Dupont, Paul Martin, M./Mme Durand, M./Mme Martin, etc.; * 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, (M./Mme) Untel/Unetelle (Mr/Mrs NoName), Madame Michu (only female), (M./Mme) Tartempion (familiar and little satirical); * Other: ** (M./Mme) Machin/Machine (familiar terms, used when one does not take the pain to find another term); ** (Un) Gazier originally, a man who worked in gas transport; nowadays, it is a familiar term to tell "Someone" (mostly for a man, this term is rare for women, and in such a case, the correct orthography is "Gazière"). See also :fr:wikt:Tartempion#Synonymes

Germany

* Max Mustermann (Erika for female) * Otto Normalverbraucher * Hein Blöd * Lieschen Müller

Hungary

* Gipsz Jakab

Israel

* Israel Israeli *

Ploni This is a list of placeholder names (words that can refer to things, persons, places, numbers and other concepts whose names are temporarily forgotten, irrelevant, or unknown in the context in which they are being discussed) in various languages. ...

and Almoni

Italy

* Mario Rossi * Pinco Pallino * Tal dei Tali * Signor Nessuno * Uomo medio * Cittadino qualunque * "Tizio, Caio e Sempronio" equivalent to "Tom, Dick and Harry"

Japan

* (male) * (female) * (anonymous)

Malaysia

* Cik Kiah (uncle 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 A banana fritter is a fritter made by deep frying battered banana or plantain in hot oil. It is a common dish across Southeast Asia and South India,Kerala. Varieties Brunei Banana fritters are a traditional snack in Brunei, where they are call ...

seller earning the median rural income.

The Netherlands

* Jan Modaal

Norway

* wikt:Ola/Kari Normann

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 Novak (in Serbo-Croatian and Slovene; Cyrillic: ), Novák (in Hungarian, Czech and Slovak), Nowak or Novack (in German and Polish), is a surname and masculine given name, derived from the Slavic word for "new" (e.g. pl, nowy, cz, nový, s ...

(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"., "PRZECIĘTNY KOWALSKI. UWAGI O KONOTACJACH I MEDIALNYCH WYSTĄPIENIACH JEDNOSTKI ONIMICZNEJ", ''Zeszyty Naukowe KUL'', vol 58, no. 3 (231), 2015, pp. 3-9.

Portuguese

* Fulano (from Arabic), Sicrano (unknown etymology), Beltrano (from given name Beltrão) "Fulano, Sicrano e Beltrano" equivalent to "Tom, Dick and Harry"

Russia

Common placeholder first names in Russia are Ivan and Peter, due to their commonality. 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 a relatively new phenomenon, unknown in early 20th century. Ivanov, being derived from the most common first name, is a placeholder either for s sine arbitrary person. In its plural form, "Ivanovs", it may be used as a placeholder for a group of people."Иванов, Петров, Сидоров..."
, In: "Чужое имя", ''Kanun'' Almanac �льманах Канун issue 6, St.Petersburg, 2001, pp.273-293. There is a military joke: The sergeant asks the rookies: "Your surnames!" - "Ivanov!", "Petrov!", "Sidorov!" - "Are you brothers?" - "No, we are namesakes, sir!" In informal, humorous or ironic contexts, the placeholder is sometimes used. The surname, derived from the word "pup", meaning "

navel The navel (clinically known as the umbilicus, commonly known as the belly button or tummy button) is a protruding, flat, or hollowed area on the abdomen at the attachment site of the umbilical cord. All placental mammals have a navel, although ...

", is funny-sounding for a Russian. In

Russian jokes Russian jokes (russian: link=no, анекдоты, anekdoty, anecdotes) are short fictional stories or dialogs with a punch line, which commonly appear in Russian humor. Russian joke culture includes a series of categories with fixed settings and ...

, a placeholder name for an archetypal Jew is Rabinovich.

Spanish

* Fulano, from Arabic, Mengano, Zutano. "Fulano, Mengano y Zutano" equivalent to "Tom, Dick and Harry"

Sweden

Svensson Svensson (also Svenson and anglicised Swensson, Swenson, Swinson or Swanson) is the ninth most common Sweden, Swedish family name, there are about 88,000 people with the name in the population register. The name literally means "son of Sven (disamb ...

, medelsvensson describing an average Swede. Svensson being one of the most common surnames in Sweden.

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

Girl next door The girl next door is a young female stock character who is often used in romantic stories. She is so named because she often lives next door to the protagonist or is a childhood friend. They start out with a mutual friendship that later often ...

* Fred Bloggs or Joe Bloggs * Joe Public or Jane Public * John Smith *

Joe Soap "Joe Soap" is British rhyming slang denoting a foolish stooge or scapegoat, ''Joe'' being an ordinary person, with ''Soap'' as a rhyme for ''dope''. History The phrase appeared in a 1943 book of military slang by John Hunt and Alan Pringle: ''"J ...

* Mrs Miggins * the great unwashed * the man in the street *

the man on the Clapham omnibus The man on the Clapham omnibus is a hypothetical ordinary and reasonable person, used by the courts in English law where it is necessary to decide whether a party has acted as a reasonable person would – for example, in a civil action for negli ...

* the middle class * Tom, Dick and Harry * Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells or Outraged of Tunbridge Wells

United States

* John Smith *

John Doe John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used 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 ...

and

Jane Doe John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used 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 ofte ...

* John Q. Public *John Q. Citizen *John Q. Taxpayer *Joe Blow *Joe Sixpack * Tom, Dick and Harry * Average Joe *

Joe Shmoe Joe Shmoe (also spelled Joe Schmoe and Joe Schmo), meaning "Joe Anybody", or no one in particular, is a commonly used fictional name in American English. Adding a "Shm" to the beginning of a word is meant to diminish, negate, or dismiss an argum ...

References

{{reflist Figures of speech Terms related to an average person Placeholder names