''Nomen nescio'' (), abbreviated to ''N.N.'', is used to signify an
anonymous or unnamed person. From
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
– "name", and – "I do not know", it literally means "I do not know the name". The generic name
Numerius Negidius used in
Roman times was chosen partly because it shared initials with this phrase.
Usage
One use for this name is to protect against retaliation when reporting a
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...
or company
fraud. In the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, a police suspect who refuses to give his name is given an "N.N. number." In
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and
Belgium, ''N.N.'' is also frequently seen in
university course lists, indicating that a course will take place but that the lecturer is not yet known; the abbreviation in this case means ''nomen nominandum'' – "the name is to be announced". Thus, the meaning is different from the above definition and is the same as
TBD (to be decided).
''N. N.'' is commonly used in the scoring of
chess games,
not only when one participant's name is genuinely unknown but when an untitled player faces a master, as in a
simultaneous exhibition. Another reason is to protect a known player from the insult of a painful defeat.
Genealogists often use the abbreviation to signify an unknown or partially unknown name (such as ''N.N.'' Jones).
It has increased in usage in online gaming as an insult to mean that someone is unknown within the community.
See also
*
Placeholder name
*
List of placeholder names
*
A. N. Other
*
John Doe
*
Hudjefa
References
Roman law
Anonymity pseudonyms
Latin words and phrases
Genealogy
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