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List of terms referring to an average person

The following is a list of terms referring to an average person. Many are used as placeholder names.

Ungrouped

By culture

Arabic

  • Fulān (male: ), Fulāna (female: ), also (male with family name: Fulān al-Fulani)

Argentina

  • María Victoria Villareal is used in the National Identity Cards (DNI) specimens, born in 60's. However, she was replaced with others.
  • Virgilio Portillo is a non-citizen, generally appear as Paraguayan nationality.
  • Manuela Martínez or Fernández (Depending on DNI version), is a girl that has "MANU", in her signature.
  • 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)

  • ("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 VÅ¡udybyl ("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 (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), (Mr/Mrs NoName; literally, “a such” and thus similar to the English “so-and-so”), (only female), (M./Mme) (familiar and a little satirical);
  • Other:
  • (M./Mme) (familiar terms, used when one does not wish take the trouble to think of a more specific term);
  • (Un) 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) : someone whose identity is unknown or cannot be disclosed.

See also

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: siu<sup>2</sup> ming<sup>4</sup>, Wugniu: <sup>3</sup>siau-min<sub>2</sub>), a common generic name used in educational or comedic situations.
  • (pinyin: Mǒumǒu, Jyutping: mau<sup>5</sup> mau<sup>5</sup>, Wugniu: <sup>4</sup>meu-meu<sub>4</sub>), (pinyin: Mǒujiǎ, Jyutping: mau<sup>5</sup> gaap<sup>3</sup>, Wugniu: <sup>4</sup>meu-ciaq<sub>7</sub>), (pinyin: Mǒuyǐ, Jyutping: mau<sup>5</sup> jyut<sup>3</sup>, Wugniu: <sup>4</sup>meu-iq<sub>7</sub>), 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 YÄ«), (Chén Èr), (Zhāng Sān), (Lǐ Sì), (Wáng Wǔ), (Zhào Lìu), (SÅ«n QÄ«), (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: can<sup>4</sup> daai<sup>6</sup> man<sup>4</sup>) (male) and (Jyutping: can<sup>4</sup> siu<sup>2</sup> mei<sup>5</sup>) (female)
  • (Jyutping: lok<sup>6</sup> wing<sup>5</sup> cing<sup>4</sup>) or Lok Wing Ching, the name currently used on the sample identity card.

Taiwan

  • (pinyin: Zhìmíng, POJ: Chì-bêng) (male) and (pinyin: ChÅ«njiāo, 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

  • ("John Modal"), used to refer to those with a median income
  • , used by politician Geert Wilders
  • ("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 (FolānÄ«): Loan word from Arabic, which is used in Persian for both male and female subjects.
  • یارو (YarÅ«): 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

  • (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.

The name "Vasya Pupkin" () may be used to denote an average random or unknown person in the colloquial speech.

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.

Somalia

  • "Macawiisley" (anglicised as "ma'awisley", literally meaning "sarong-wearer")

Spain

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

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 ( equivalent to 'Mr. A')

United Kingdom

Scotland

United States and Canada

Yiddish

  • Chaim Yankel

See also

References