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John Doe

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 203.123.36.242 (talk) at 08:15, 8 October 2007 (In India, Ashok Kumar is being used as an accepted pseudonym for a person whose identity is not known.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For other uses, see John Doe (disambiguation).

The name John Doe is generally 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 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. Widely used in the United States of America, though rarely used in other English-speaking 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. Other names such as include Joe Bloggs.

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.

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, Jackie Joe, Marta Moe, Norma Noe, Paula Poe, Ralph Roe, Sammy Soe, Tommy Toe, Vince Voe, William Woe, Xerxes Xoe.

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, Doña Rosa
Australia Fred Nerk, Joe Blow, Joe Bloggs, John Citizen, Joe Farnarkle, John Barry, Simon McCool, Bob Johnson
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 Marković, Petar Petrović, Sima Simić
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 it 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, Fulano de Tal (probably from Arabic, Fulan), Pepito Pérez, Zutano, Mengano, Perengano, Perencejo
Costa Rica Juan Pérez, Fulano de Tal (probably from Arabic, Fulan), Sutano, Mengano, Perencejo
Croatia Ivan Horvat, Pero Perić, N.N. ("Nepoznati Netko", trns. "Unknown someone")
Cuba Fulano, Mengano, Ciclano, Esperancejo, Juan Pinga (female equivalents: Fulana, Mengana, Ciclana, Esperanceja.) Optional surname: de Tal ("of such")
Czech Republic Jan Novák, Karel Vomáčka, Tomáš Martiník, Jan Skočdopole, pan Neznámý (Mr. Unknown)
Denmark N.N. (short for Latin nomen nescio, "I don't know the name"). More informally, the term Hr. og Fru Danmark ("Mr. and Mrs. Denmark") is used as a generic name for any average Danish couple (similar to Mr. & Mrs. John Q. Public and Kari og Ola Normann).
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)
France Jean Dupont, Paul Martin, Monsieur Durand, Monsieur Untel/ Madame Unetelle, Monsieur/Madame X, Pierre-Paul-Jacques as in Tom-Dick-Harry (even though those are three very common, distinct given names, this is often said as a long uninterrupted string, as if an actual composed name: "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 Γιώργος Τάδε (Giorgos Tade, male), Μαρία Τάδε (Maria Tade, female), Άγνωστος (Unknown).
Guatemala Juan Pérez, Fulano, Sutano (or Zutano), Mengano, Perencejo
Hong Kong and Macau 陳大文 (male), 陳小明 (boy).
Hungary Gipsz Jakab, Hát/Háth Izsák, Jóska Pista, Kovács János (John Smith), Pityi Palkó, Ribizli Gizi, 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 Devanagari). Translates directly into "unknown". Nowadays, courts in India widely accept 'Ashok Kumar' as a synonym for John Doe, in the Indian context.
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). Another name used is Moshe Cohen משה כהן.
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 means nameless, and 権兵衛 is a rather old-fashioned male name.), 何野某 (Nanno Nanigashi, old-fashioned))
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) ; Sa fame 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. Jan-Piet-Klaas used as one word with the meaning of Tom, Dick and Harry.
Nepal Ram, Shyam, Hari, and other slangs such as Chamar, Ram Kumar Deshar, Sigdel, and Jyapu.
New Zealand Joe Bloggs, John Doe, Bob Smith
Nigeria Lagbaja
Norway N.N, Ola Nordmann, Kari Nordmann, Peder Ås
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, Mengano, Zutano, Perengano, Perencejo
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 (de Tal), Sicrano, Beltrano.
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), referring to legal entities - ООО "Ромашка" (OOO "Romashka" - "Сamomile Limited liability company"), ООО "Рога и копыта" (OOO "Roga i Kopyta" - Horns & Hoofs LLC, see The Little Golden Calf)
Serbia In legal documents, police and court, NN lice (NN person) is used. Everyday equivalents are: Petar Petrović, Pera Perić, Marko Marković, Janko Janković.
Singapore In humour, everyday equivalents are either: Tan Ah Kao and Tan Ah Beng.
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.
Swahili Fulani
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, Joe Public, Johnny Foreigner
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), Vinnie Boombotz (particularly in New York City)
Venezuela Fulano, Fulano de Tal, Sutano, Mengano, Perencejo, Pedro Perez, Juan de los Palotes, Juan Bimba
Vietnam Người giấu tên, Nguyễn Văn A (male), Trần Thị B (female)

Books

  • John Doe is a Cartoon agent in the Cartoon book Halo.
  • A character named crow well mountain juniper (all lowercase) changes his name to John Doe in the book Jpod by Douglas Coupland.
  • The antagonist in Lincoln Child's "Utopia"
  • The main character in Michael Gruber's "Tropic of Night".

Comics

  • Snoopy (Charlie Brown's dog from the Charles Schulz comic strip Peanuts), in his "world-famous attorney" persona, claimed that "John Doe v. Richard Roe" was his most famous case. The name of this case reverses the usual roles of plaintiff and defendant associated with those names.
  • 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.
  • A woman calling herself Jane Doe is another of Batman's foes. She infiltrates her victim's lives and then assumes them, usually murdering them soon after. She was a major player in the limited series Arkham Asylum: Living Hell.

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.
  • A Toronto woman, publicly known only as Jane Doe, waged an 11-year court battle against the Toronto Police Service after being raped in 1986, alleging that the police had used her as bait to catch the rapist. She won the case in 1998, and was named Chatelaine's Woman of the Year that year. [1] She published a book about her experience, The Story of Jane Doe, in 2003.

Film

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
  • The Red Hot Chili Peppers twice refer to Doe, in the song "Midnight" they sing : "Like the fear, that's in the eyes of every Doe | Say it now 'cause John and Jane would like to know" and in "Good Time Boys": "if you don't believe me you can ask John Doe 'cause his heart is made of glory and his voice is made of gold".
  • "Johndoe" is a Norwegian rock band.
  • "Jane Doe", an American band.
  • P.O.D. uses the line, "Dread at the controls, label 'em John Doe" repeatedly in their song "Sounds Like War."
  • John Doe is referred to in the song Just Another Victim on the Judgement Night soundtrack.

Television

  • John Doe is a 2002 Fox Broadcasting Company series starring Dominic Purcell, currently playing on the SciFi Channel. This short-lived television show is named after the name of the main character, who's a man with extreme knowledge of everything in the world, except his own name. In 21 episodes he tries to discover his name, while working on difficult police cases. The series was aborted after the last (cliffhanger) episode.
  • "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.
  • "Jane Doe" is the name given to Claire Bennet when she "dies" in episode four (Collision) of TV series Heroes.
  • "Jane Doe" is the name given to an unknown identity of a murdered victim in the show Bones.
  • "John" and "Jane" Doe are often used in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.
  • "John Dough" is the name used by Swami River to rent a post office box in the Mathnet episode "The Case of the Swami Scam."
  • "Jane Doe" is the name given to a unknown victim in NCIS. Ducky kept her cremated remains for 10 years in the morgue.

Video games

Fashion

See also

Look up John Doe in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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