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What's the "Joe Shmoe" of different cultures? Or the "John/Jane Smith"? (lemm.ee)

submitted 1 year ago by ech@lemm.ee to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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Explanations/etymology also appreciated!

For Joe Shmoe, it means a very average or below average person. It's a derivation of the practice of using "shm-" to dismiss something (eg "Practice shmactice. We're already perfect").

And "John Smith" is meant to be the most average name or person imaginable, so they have the "most common" (citation needed) first and last name as well.

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[–] halvdan 13 points 1 year ago

Sweden: Svensson, although the most common surname is Andersson.

Specifically for Gothenburg - Glenn "everybody is called Glenn in Gothenburg", or older use - Kålle (male) and Ada (female). Not used that often.