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From: wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin )
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Common names in other countries
Message-ID: <7518@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Date: Fri, 18-Jan-85 17:10:14 EST
Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.7518
Posted: Fri Jan 18 17:10:14 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 23-Jan-85 08:33:38 EST
Distribution: net
Organization: USAMC ALMSA
Lines: 35

I recently saw a posting, I believe in net.movies about a movie set in India,
that mentioned a character or actor/filmmaker with the name "Bannerjee".
Now, I recall that there is at least one net poster with that name.
Should I assume that these people are related, or is the name "Bannerjee" 
in India like the name "Smith" or "Martin" in America; that is, a very
common name?

Thus, to enlarge the subject to be more general, would it be possible to 
form a list of the equivalents in each major language, or country (if that
is more suitable), to "John Smith" and "Jane Smith" and "John Doe" and
"Jane Doe" in American English?

The former set (male & female Smiths) would be the archetypal name of the
common citizen; a name which really exists and is so common that one
would expect it to be a pseudonym. The latter set (male & female Does)
are the "legal generic" terms -- names which are used to represent an
otherwise-unnamed person, but which are actually NOT really common names
themselves (I've known many Smiths but never met a Doe).

[I'm not sure where the "John Q. Public" construct fits into this
concept. It is used mostly by journalists to refer to "the common man"
in general; does this have an equivalent outside America?]

Let's start this off with a specific query, directed at India because
there is evidence that there are a number of persons on the net who
come from there: Are there generally-recognized equivalents to the
American English names above in use in the Indian press or in general
conversation or legalese among Indian nationals? Would there be a
different name or set of names for each ethnic group or language group,
or is there one for all Indians?

Regards,
Will Martin

USENET: seismo!brl-bmd!wmartin     or   ARPA/MILNET: wmartin@almsa-1.ARPA