This is a list of placeholder names (words that can refer to things, persons, places, numbers and other concepts whose names are temporarily forgotten, irrelevant, unknown or being deliberately withheld in the context in which they are being discussed) in various languages.
Arabic Arabic uses Fulan and Fulana[h] (فلان / فلانة, translated as "someone") as placeholder for first names. When a last name is needed, Fulan is repeated, e.g. Fulan AlFulani and Fulana[h] AlFulaniyya[h] (فلان الفلاني / فلانة الفلانية). The use of Fulan has been borrowed into Spanish, Portuguese, Persian, Turkish and Malay. Moroccan Arabic uses "hadak" and "hadik", the masculine and feminine versions of "this", often followed by man, woman, place, or thing. X ben X (lit. 'X, son of X', Arabic: إكس بن إكس or سين بن سين) is used in Morocco by health and judicial authorities in cases where an individual's identity cannot be determined. These cases include amnesiacs, suspects, hospital patients, and homeless people. In 2009, 80,000 abandoned orphans had the placeholder name of X ben X and 100 unidentified bodies are buried each year in Morocco under this status.
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic Inna ܐܸܢܵܐ or hinna ܗܸܢܵܐ are used for "thingy", "thingamabob", etc. "Ayka dre-li inna?" roughly translates to "Where did I put the thingamabob?" A verb of the root '-N-L (ܐܢܠ) likely derived from the noun is used to express actions similarly; for verbs that don't immediately come to mind. Though not directly translatable into English, e.g. "Si m’annil-leh" roughly translates to "go do that thing". Similarly to other Semitic languages, plān ܦܠܵܢ (masculine) and plānīthā ܦܠܵܢܝܼܬ݂ܵܐ (feminine) are used for "so-and-so".
Bengali Bengali uses the universal placeholder ইয়ে iẏē. It is generally placed for a noun which cannot be recalled by the speaker at the time of speech. ইয়ে iẏē can be used for nouns, adjectives, and verbs (in conjunction with light verbs). অমুক amuk can also be a placeholder for people or objects. ফলনা/ফলানা falanā/falānā and its female equivalent ফলনি falani is a placeholder specific to people.
Chinese In Chinese, the placeholder names are usually 张三 (Zhāng Sān) and 李四 (Lǐ Sì), from two of the most common surnames in China and the numbers three and four. They come from Wang Anshi's 拟寒山拾得 (lit. 'In the style of Hanshan and Shide'). They do not have strong gender connotations. They are sometimes extended to other surname-number pairings. 小明 (Xiǎo Míng) is also a common placeholder name in Chinese. In Taiwan, it can refer to people from mainland China.
Danish
People A variety of names can be used as placeholders in common parlance in Danish. The Danish use "Hr. & Fru Danmark" or Mr. & Mrs. Denmark to describe a generic couple of "average Joe". In civil law, letters of the alphabet (A, B, C etc.) are used as placeholders for names. In criminal law, T is used for the accused (tiltalte), V is a non-law enforcement witness (vidne), B is a police officer (betjent) and F or FOU is the victim (forurettede). When there is more than one person in a role, a number is added, e.g. V1, V2 and B1, B2.
Places Faraway countries are often called Langtbortistan. Langtbortistan was first used in 1959 in the weekly periodical Anders And & Co. as Sonja Rindom's translation of Remotistan. Since 2001, it has been included in Retskrivningsordbogen. Backwards places in the countryside are called Lars Tyndskids marker, lit. The fields of Lars Diarrhea. Similarly Hvor kragerne vender, lit. Where the crows turn around may also be used for denoting both a far away and backward place at the same time. The expression langt pokker i vold is a placeholder for a place far far away e.g. he kicked the ball langt pokker i vold.
Egyptian In Ancient Egypt, the names Hudjefa and Sedjes, literally meaning "erased" and "missing", were used by later Egyptian scribes in kings lists to refer to much older previous pharaohs whose names had by that time been lost.
English
Persons
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
