John

a John Doe murder case; the dreaded Dear John letter; if we were to ask John Q. Public his opinion

A male given name originating from the Bible [in turn from Hebrew]; very popular since the Middle Ages.

(informal) Used generically for a man whose actual name may not be known.

(informal) Used frequently to form an idea personified, as in John Bull, John Barleycorn (see derivations below).

John is a most excellent name, and Smith is a surname which is worthy of respect and honor, but wo to the man on whom they are conjoined! For John Smith to aspire to senatorial dignities or to the laurel of a poet is simply ridiculous. Who is John Smith? He is lost in the multitude of John Smiths, and individual fame is impossible.

1852 August, D. H. Jacques, “A Chapter on Names”, in The Knickerbocker, or, New-York Monthly Magazine, volume XL, page 114:

The name I refer to is John. It has been borne by many illustrious men and an innumerable multitude of the obscure. - - - It is as fixed as the English landscape and the procession of seasons. It never becomes wearisome or tarnished. Nothing affects it; nothing can bring it into contempt; it stands like a rock amid the turbulent waves of human history, as fine and noble a thing now as it was when it first took shape on human lips. It is a name to live up to; but if one who bears it sinks into disrepute it falls not with him, but rather stays in the firmament above him, shining down upon him like a reproachful star.

1920, John Collings Squire, “Initials”, in Life and Letters: Essays, Hodder & Stoughton, pages 233–235:

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, John 1:6:

(biblical) Persons of the Christian Bible: John the Baptist; and names possibly referring to one, two or three persons, frequently called "Saint": John the Apostle, John the Evangelist and John of Patmos (also called John the Divine or John the Theologian).

(biblical) The Gospel of St. John, a book of the New Testament of the Bible. Traditionally the fourth of the four gospels.

(biblical) One of the books in the New Testament of the Bible, the epistles of John (1 John, 2 John and 3 John).

sir

name used to address a man whose actual name is not known (standard)

boy

name used to address a man whose actual name is not known(colloquial or slang)

→ Arabic: جُون (jōn)

→ Cebuano: John

→ French: John

→ Italian: John

Primerá Kartá de Jeneral de Yohánan El Apostol

פרימירה קארטה ג׳יניראל די יוחנן איל אפוסטול

קארטה סינונדה די יוחנן איל אפוסטול

קארטה טירסירה די יוחנן איל אפוסטול

মিঞা

name used to address a man whose name is not known

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-John.wav

From Middle English John, Johan, Johannes, from Anglo-Norman Jehan, Johan, and also Old English Iohannes, both from Late Latin Iōhannēs, variant of Latin Iōannēs, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Biblical Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (Yôḥānān), perhaps contracted from a former יְהוֹחָנָן (Yəhōḥānān, “God is gracious”).
Doublet of Jack, Jon, Johan, Johann, Johannes, Jean, Sean, Shane, Shaun, Ian, Ivan, Evan, Juan, Giovanni, and Yahya.


John

I and the other "Johns," as I soon discovered all new-comers at Sandhurst were, and are still, styled, although at the time I was unconscious of it, managed to troop in after the A company, but although not two minutes after them, found all the different messes already seated and hard at work.

To avoid bullying, first-year “Johns” (from Johnny Raw) “fagged” for senior classmen known as “Regs.” Fagging included making beds, running messages, and smuggling contraband.

(UK, military, slang) A new recruit at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

(US, slang, archaic) Alternative letter-case form of john (“a toilet, lavatory, outhouse, chamber pot”).