11 versions of 'Average Joe' from other countries
Morten Menigmand sounds anything but normal. And yet...
Average Joe, Joe Schmo, John Doe. He's bland and average. Faceless, but not nameless. Every country needs a way to talk about just "some guy." Here's what 11 countries call that typical guy, who might have no specific qualities, but is still "one of our own."
1. GERMANY: OTTO NORMALVERBRAUCHER
Otto "normal consumer" or "middlebrow."
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2. CHINA: ZHANG SAN
Translates to "Zhang 3." Sometimes shows up with Li Si (Li 4) and Wang Wu (Wang 5).
3. DENMARK: MORTEN MENIGMAND
Morton Everyman.
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4. AUSTRALIA: FRED NURK
Sounds pretty normal to me.
5. RUSSIA: VASYA PUPKIN
With a name like that, it's hard not to be a typical schmo.
6. FINLAND: MATTI MEIKÄLÄINEN
Meikäläinen looks like a typical Finnish surname, but it also means "one of us."
7. SWEDEN: MEDELSVENSSON
Just your average Svensson.
8. FRANCE: MONSIEUR TOUT-LE-MONDE
"Mr. Everyone." Also goes by Jean Dupont
9. UK/NEW ZEALAND: JOE BLOGGS
Still an average Joe (but can also be a Fred).
10. ITALY: MARIO ROSSI
In Italy they just use a common name.
11. LATIN AMERICA: JUAN PÉREZ
Likewise in various Spanish-speaking countries in Central and South America.
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Arika Okrent is editor-at-large at TheWeek.com and a frequent contributor to Mental Floss. She is the author of In the Land of Invented Languages, a history of the attempt to build a better language. She holds a doctorate in linguistics and a first-level certification in Klingon. Follow her on Twitter.
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