"John Smith" is a name often regarded as the archetype of a common personal name in most English-speaking countries, a generic name sometimes representing "everyman" or "the average person."

In the United Kingdom and United States, John has historically been one of the most common male first names,^[1] and Smith is the most common surname in each.^[2] It is a recurrent pseudonym, placeholder name, or metasyntactic name in those countries (especially in legal contexts). In this fashion it is similar to the name "Joe Bloggs" in the United Kingdom and "John Doe" in the United States.

The surname "Miller" or "Jones" is often used in the same way "Smith" is used, although not as frequently.

Politicians

Canada

• John Smith (Chief), 19th century Cree Chief and Treaty Six signatory; founder of the Muskoday First Nation in Saskatchewan
• John Smith (Ontario MPP), member of the 1st Ontario Legislative Assembly, 1867–1871
• John Smith (Ontario MP) (1894–1977), member of Canadian House of Commons, Lincoln electoral district

Ghana

• John Hope Smith, 19th century governor of colonial Ghana

New Zealand

• John Valentine Smith (1824–1895), New Zealand politician

United Kingdom

• John Smith (UK politician) (1938–1994), leader of the British Labour Party
• John Smith (English statesman), commissioner of the English Treasury, 1694–1695
• John Smith (Chancellor of the Exchequer), English Chancellor of the Exchequer and Speaker of the House of Commons, 1705–1708
• John Smith (British Army officer) (1754–1837), soldier in the American Revolutionary War
• John Smith (Wendover MP) (1767–1842), Member of Parliament for Wendover
• John Smith (Welsh politician) (born 1951), Welsh politician and Labour Party Member of Parliament
• John Smith (Conservative politician) (1923–2007), former Member of Parliament for Cities of London and Westminster
• John Smith (Manchester politician), Councillor in the City of Manchester
• John Smith, Baron Kirkhill, Life Peer in the House of Lords

United States

• John Cotton Smith (1765–1845), 8th Governor of Connecticut
• John Joseph Smith (1904–1980), United States Representative from Connecticut and Federal Judge
• John Smith, Louisiana State Senator
• John Walter Smith (1845–1925), 44th Governor of Maryland
• John M. C. Smith (1853–1923), United States Representative from Michigan's 3rd Congressional District
• John Butler Smith (1838–1914), 52nd Governor of New Hampshire
• John Smith (New York), United States Senator from New York
• J. Hyatt Smith (1824–1886), United States Representative from New York's 3rd Congressional District
• John Smith (Ohio Senator) (1735–1824), United States Senator from Ohio
• John Quincy Smith (1824–1901), United States Representative from Ohio's 3rd Congressional District
• Jonathan Bayard Smith (1742–1812), Pennsylvania Continental Congress delegate
• John T. Smith (congressman), United States Representative from Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District
• John Lee Smith (1894–1963), Lieutenant Governor of Texas
• John Smith (Vermont), United States Representative from Vermont's 4th Congressional District
• John Smith (Virginia), United Stats Representative from Virginia's 3rd Congressional District
• John Smith, Illinois Lieutenant Governor
• John Speed Smith (1792–1854), Kentucky, U.S. Representative, 1822–1823
• John Smith, Michigan, Mayor of Detroit, 1924–1928
• John Ambler Smith (1847–1892), Ohio, U.S. Representative
• John Armstrong Smith, Ohio, U.S. Representative
• John Lyman Smith, Utah territorial legislature member
• J. Gregory Smith (1818?1891), Vermont, the 28^th Governor
• John Hugh Smith, mayor of Nashville, Tennessee, 3 times between 1845 and 1865

Cultural figures

• John Smith (clockmaker) (1770–1814)
• John Smith (architect) (1781–1852), Scottish architect
• John Smith (comics), British comics writer
• John Smith (BBC executive) (born 1957)
• John Smith of Jamestown (1580–1631), explorer
• John Smith (filmmaker) (born 1952), avant-garde filmmaker
• John Smith (performance artist), British performance artist
• John Raphael Smith (1752–1812), English mezzotint engraver and painter
• John Rubens Smith (1775–1849), American painter in Philadelphia
• John Stafford Smith (1750–1836), composer of the tune for "The Star-Spangled Banner"
• John Smith (actor) (1931–1995), American actor
• John Smith (poet) (born 1927), Canadian poet.
• John Smith (English poet) (1662–1717), English poet and playwright
• John Berryman (1914–1972), originally John Allyn Smith, American poet
• John Smith (20th century English poet), English poet
• John Mortimer Smith, real name of rapper and producer Lil Jon

Academic figures

• John D. Smith, indologist at the University of Cambridge
• John Smith (mathematician), mathematician at the University of Oxford, 1766–1797
• John Smith (dentist) (1825–1910), founder of the Edinburgh school of Dentistry
• John Alexander Smith (1863–1939), British Idealist philosopher
• John Cyril Smith (1922–2003), leading authority on English Criminal Law
• John Lawrence Smith (1818–83), American doctor and chemist. Past president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
• John Smith (Cambridge), Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge in 1497, 1499, and 1504
• John Smith (Cambridge, 1766), Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge in 1766
• John McGarvie Smith, Australian metallurgist and bacteriologist
• John Smith (academic), Professor of languages at Dartmouth College
• John H. Smith (mathematician), mathematician at Boston College

Sports figures

• John L. Smith, former head football coach at Michigan State
• John Smith, former UCLA coach and current 440 yd dash WR holder
• John Smith (baseball player), a first baseman in 1882
• John Smith (baseball shortstop), shortstop, 1873–1875
• John Smith (footballer)
• John Smith (footballer born 1855), Scottish footballer of the 1870s and 1880s
• John T. Smith, American professional wrestler
• John Smith (wrestler) (born 1965)
• John Smith (American football), former New England Patriots kicker

Religious figures

• John Smith (nephew of Joseph Smith, Jr.) (1832–1911), Presiding Patriarch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• John Smith (uncle of Joseph Smith, Jr.) (1781–1854), Presiding Patriarch and member of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• John Henry Smith (1848–1911), apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
• John Smith (Platonist) (1618–1652), one of the founders of the Cambridge Platonists
• John Smith (missionary) (1790–1824), English missionary in the West Indies
• John H. Smith (bishop), sixth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia, 1989–1999

Miscellaneous figures

• John F. Smith, Jr. (born 1939), General Motors former Chairman and CEO
• John Smith (brewer) (died 1879), Tadcaster brewery founder in North Yorkshire
• John Smith (Disney) (fictionalized), animated character based on the Jamestown colony leader
• John Smith (Medal of Honor recipient, 1880) (born 1854), United States Navy sailor
• John Smith (Native American) (died 1922), Chippewa Indian reputed to have died at the age of 137
• John Smith (serial killer), serial killer who murdered up to three women
• John Smith (sergeant) (1814–1864), soldier in the Bengal Sappers and Miners and Indian Mutiny Victoria Cross recipient
• John Smith (private) (1822–1866), soldier in the 1st Madras (European) Fusillers and Indian Mutiny Victoria Cross recipient
• John Lucian Smith (1914–1972), United States Marine Corps flying ace and Medal of Honor recipient

See also

• John Smyth
• Johnny Smith
• John Maynard Smith (1920–2004), geneticist, whose surname is actually "Maynard Smith", not "Smith"
• John Smit (born 1978), South African rugby player
• Juan Smith (born 1981), South African rugby player
• Ode to J. Smith is the upcoming Travis album expected autumn 2008
• John Smith's Brewery
• Johnny Smith (Dead Zone), fictional character in Stephen King's novel The Dead Zone and its subsequent adaptations.
• J. Wesley Smith, cartoon character created by Burr Shafer
• John Smith/Sir John Smith/Dr John Smith is the alias of The Doctor of the British TV show Doctor Who, which he uses when pretending to be human.
• John Smith, alias of the character Kyon in the fourth novel of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

References

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