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John Doe, Jane Doe

Cultural  

  1. Fictitious names used in legal proceedings to label people whose names are not known and in advertising campaigns to represent the average person.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In thousands of cases, the city, county or court records identified officers only as “John Doe,” “Jane Doe” or unknown, and The Post was unable to determine those identities.

From Washington Post

The firm is representing a John Doe, Jane Doe and three other Colorado residents who cite Native American heritage in the lawsuit.

From Seattle Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.