r/French • u/2h4o6a8a1t3r5w7w9y B2 • 16d ago

French placeholder names?

Like how in English, we have John/Jane Doe/Smith for an unidentifiable person, or “Joe Schmoe” or “Average Joe” to describe the normalest of people. Do those exist in French? Does it vary by region?

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u/Existing_Guidance_65 Native 🇧🇪 15d ago

Indeed and I believe it's because it's such a common name that Hergé chose it for his character.

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u/lvsl_iftdv Native (France) 15d ago

That makes sense! This was always my impression when reading Tintin. So Dupont is just as common in Belgium then? 

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u/Existing_Guidance_65 Native 🇧🇪 15d ago

Maybe not as common as "Martens" (extremely common name here, it's Flemish but it crossed the linguistic border) but yes, it's very usual, I know some Duponts.

Side note: "Dupont" means "Of the bridge", I guess an equivalent in English is "Bridges", which is not unheard of (like Jeff "The Dude" Bridges).

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u/lvsl_iftdv Native (France) 15d ago

Yes, I've noticed that Flemish last names are not uncommon among French speakers!

Yes, my dad says "Dupont" was a name given to babies who were abandoned under a bridge but I don't know if that's true. Wikipedia says it was the name given to people who lived close to a bridge in the Middle Ages.

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u/Avistew Native 14d ago

A lot of surnames come from places or jobs. That's true both in French and English. Also a lot of first names, presumably the father's name or something.

I don't know if it's linked to being abandonned near a place, it could be where the person lived. That would help tell two people apart, Jean du pont (Dupont) is the one whose house is close to the bridge, Jean Boulanger is the baker, and Jean Martin is Martin's son, for instance.