Books that documented and taught the legal profession in England were using the namesJohn Smith,John Doe,Richard Roe, and others as genericplaceholder names (for roles, such as plaintiff, defendant, partitioner, etc) by the mid-seventeenth century (perhaps earlier). Compare alsoTommy Atkins.(Thisetymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at theEtymology scriptorium.)
