Poor “John”.

I thought about this as DOB (dad of blogger) excused himself at a restaurant to “go find the John.”  He remembers not to say this in front of my sister, for whom this phrase is like fingernails on a chalkboard, for reasons unknown.  But since SOB (sister of blogger) was not at lunch today, DOB thought to live a little.

While he was gone, I mused over the unfortunate associations made with the name, “John,” over time.  Even Adolf (as in Hitler) is not as maligned, although it is not a really popular name anymore.

From Wikipedia and other sources:

• John, slang for a person who patronizes prostitutes.
• John, slang for toilet.
• Johnny Come Lately, a belatedly enthusiast or supporter who tries to seem as if he were a trailblazer.
• Jonnycake, a cornmeal flatbread.
• Johnny Reb, a slang term for Southern Confederates during the American Civil War.
• John Doe, or John Q. Public, the any man and every man.
• (Dear) John Letter, a letter from a soldier’s girl back home, dumping him while he is off at war.
• John, my dear friend’s sneaky, cheap and vituperative ex-husband.

So, John, a common name and one that has its correlatives in many different languages and cultures, has been summarily trashed over time.  John makes even “Herbert” or “Horace” a better naming option.  And that is tragic.  (But Adolf is probably not a good alternative until at least 100 years have passed since the end of World War II.  And not even then.)

So, be kind to the Johns in your life — as long as they are not ex-husbands, flatbreads, confederates, toilets or customers of prostitutes.