Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Abroad Share The Most Generic 'John Smith' Names From Their Home Country

People Abroad Share The Most Generic 'John Smith' Names From Their Home Country
Shane Rounce on Unsplash

We like to think we're individual snowflakes, dancing around on this planet until we land on the soft, gentle tongue of death.

What?

Turns out, we're not as unique as we think. Ever meet someone with the same name as you? Weird, right?

How do we tell Jennifer apart from Jennifer, or which Zach is the one with brown hair and the one with blonde.

Thankfully your name isn't something so unbelievably common sounding that it sounds made up, like John Smith, or something.

That's only here in America, though. What about the rest of the world?


Reddit user, iceninekills10, wanted to know the 'John Smiths' of your country when they asked:

"what is the "john smith",most generic name, in your country?"

When You're A Jet, You're The Jet All The Way

"First name: Maria, João, José, Pedro, Paulo"

"Surname: Da Silva, Souza"

"Combine them and you'll get 10 equally unremarkable names."- IC_grapes_of_green

"In Westside story the main character shouts 'MARIA!' inside Spanish Harlem and one girl pokes her head out of her window really takes you out of it."

"Not the gangs dance fighting and snapping their fingers, because that does occasionally happen."- redfoot62

Juan. John. Coincidence?

"Juan Pérez- Chile"- plasticmummy

So Common It Breaks Borders

"Christian Hansen."

"The most Danish and most basic name known to man kind."

"I only lived close to the border between Germany and Denmark, and growing up I had at least 2 teachers with that name, plus I knew at least 5 others."- TheOneAndOnlyDudeE

"I personally know three Chris Hansens, and I don't even live in Denmark."- StanePantsen

"Martin hansen."- Havolli

Meet The Whole Family

"Michael Müller"- therudereditdude

"Or his son, Thomas Müller."- dumpster_scuba

"Or His son, Max Müller"- therudereditdude

"Abdul Rahman"- norocababe

A Lot Of Unidentified Bodies

"In Hungary we always say Kovács János, literal translation of John Smith, as an universal male name, but it's more like John Doe."- fourllll

Common Enough To Be In The Comments

"Jan de vries /jan janssen"- Flupsdarups

"Yes hello"- jandefries

I Think We've All Been To That Pub...

"Seán Murphy"- ILiterallyOwnTexas

Suddenly It All Makes Sense

"Mario Rossi"- the_Chocolate_lover

"Which translates to 'Mario Red'."

"Also 'Luigi Verdi', 'Luigi Green' could be a generic name in Italy."

"Mamma mia!"- m4nu3lf

Got Money On My Mind

"Straight up nguyen all over"- ThePare

"Differentiate Them In Your Phone" Common

"I know 12 people named David Lee."

"I live in Canada."

"One of them is saved as David Lee NOT ASIAN on my phone"- rayrayrayray

Choose Where You're From

" Japan: [Sato, Suzuki, Takahashi, Tanaka] [Taro for men] [Aiko for women]"- fuzzycuffs

"I've always learned that the equivalent to John Smith (just some generic name that could be anybody) in Japan is Taro Yamada for a man and Hanako Yamada for a woman."- SoulScout

" Japanese commoners didn't have family names until the Meiji era, and once they got surnames they often chose those that described where they were from."

"Yamada 山田 means Mountain Field, i.e. someone who probably was a farmer from a mountainous area."- fuzzycuffs

Hogging the Vowels, But Missing "U" Always...

"Oísin O' Flanagan-Ireland."- AmazingFriendo

"Aoife and Séan- Ireland."- Lovelymisery1

Variations On A Name...

"For the guys its Caleb for the girls it's any variation of the name Maddie/Addy."

"Ex: Madison, Madelyn, Addi, etc."- wroetobogo

To Life!

"Haim Cohen."- Itamar_A

How Many Consonants Can You Squeeze In?

"In South Canara, you’ll get a name of Vishnu (Vishnu, Krishna, Hari, Narayana) and either Bhat or Shetty."- ArnyBoy101

Don't Tell Marcia, But It's Jan!

"Jan Novák."- Massivvvv

"Probably Jan de Jong or Jan de Vries - The Netherlands."- wavykamekun420

"Jan de Bakker."- Helpful-Background71

Is that John With Or Without An H?

"Jón Jónsson."- CheckP

What's in a name?

Turns out if your name is Maria Nguyen Lee Rahman, not much.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Donald Trump holding photos of White House ballroom
Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images

CNN Just Used A Hilarious Poll To Show Just How Unpopular Trump's Ballroom Is—And We're Cackling

After President Donald Trump claimed that his new White House ballroom is "very popular" with the American public, CNN shared a hilariously shady poll that gets to the truth of the matter.

Last year, Trump ordered the demolition of the entire East Wing to make way for a 90,000 square-foot ballroom that will dwarf the size of the White House itself, sparking alarm from historical preservationists and the public alike.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @devynnehaddoxx's TikTok video
@devynnehaddoxx/TikTok

Woman In Labor Times How Long Her Husband Takes To Poop To See If She Can Push Their Baby Out Faster In Hilarious Viral Video

It's well-known across the internet that it takes forever for men to use the restroom. For dads especially, in the time it takes them to poop, when they return to the house, their kids will have aged seven years, and their baby will have learned to walk.

These are jokes, of course, but it's an internet consensus that men spend a really long time on the porcelain throne.

Keep ReadingShow less
David Letterman (left) has continued defending Stephen Colbert (right) as CBS faces backlash over canceling The Late Show.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images; Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images

David Letterman Rips 'Lying Weasels' At CBS For Claiming Colbert Was Canceled For Financial Reasons In Epic Takedown

David Letterman isn’t staying quiet about CBS canceling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. As Colbert’s run comes to an end later this month, the former late-night host is publicly challenging the network’s claim that the decision was purely financial.

Letterman, who hosted The Late Show from 1993 until stepping down in 2015, addressed the controversy during a new interview with New York Times journalist Jason Zinoman.

Keep ReadingShow less
Antonia Eastwood; Gemma Monk
Antonia Eastwood/MSN; Cover Images

Woman Speaks Out After Prison Sentence To Reveal What Led Her To Hurl Black Paint At Sister-In-Law On Her Wedding Day

In early 2024, 49-year-old Antonia Eastwood married Ashley Monk after about five months of dating. During the ceremony, Antonia tripped while walking down the aisle.

Antonia and Ashley were both suspicious that she did not trip accidentally and that Ashley's sister, Gemma, actually tripped her. Gemma and Antonia were not close, and the couple also believed that Gemma might be jealous that they were marrying after five months, though she'd been with her childhood sweetheart for 20 years without tying the knot.

Keep ReadingShow less
Billie Eilish on 'Good Hang'
Good Hang with Amy Poehler/YouTube

Billie Eilish's Refreshingly Blunt Take On Aging And 'Botched' Plastic Surgery Has Fans Nodding Hard

You know what they say: the grass is greener on the other side. Most people want something that they don't have.

While many people right now are fixated on appearing younger than their age, Billie Eilish—who already looks younger than her age—is looking forward to what comes next.

Keep ReadingShow less