Meet John Doe. The real John Doe. The computer programmer from the Upper West Side John Doe, who would just like you to know he is quite attached to his real name, thankyouverymuch, which absolutely, is definitely not an alias.
Not that the name isn’t without its challenges.
“I say my name is John Doe and they say, ‘No, what’s your real name?’ and I pull out my ID,” he told The New York Times, which chronicled the particular challenges this John Doe faces.
For instance, the Korean immigrant is often detained by airport security, receives the third-degree from election officials and had a pretty tough time convincing his landlord he was legit. The guy only believed him after he checked his references and the wire with his deposit arrived, at which point he called poor Mr. Doe and said, “I guess you’re real. Welcome to New York.”
Overall, this John Doe is in good company. New York State voter registration records show seven additional John Does on the rolls. A John Doe in Georgia passed away in 2006 and claimed medical personnel kept popping into his hospital room because they assumed he was a celebrity in under an assumed name.
But back to our hero. Ironically, John Doe is not John Doe’s given name. That would be Jang Do. However, after he arrived in the United States more than 30 years ago, the then 11-year-old, like any tween, decided he wanted a name that would allow him to fit in. Jang quickly became John, and he even managed to convince his family to add an “e” to their last name so it would be pronounced like the “do” in “tae kwon do” and not like the “do” in “hairdo.”
Oh, and just in case you were wondering, there is no Mrs. John Doe. And yes, he’s been teased about the possibility of meeting a woman named Jane. A lot.
“That’s the biggest joke, that I have to marry a Jane Doe,” he said, “Can you imagine our signing in at a hotel as John and Jane Doe? ‘Yeah, buddy.’”
