Here’s what I propose: Let’s no longer take the name of John the Baptist in vain. Please, hear me out. We English-speaking Christians must refrain from using the word john for toilet or, worse, for a customer of a prostitute. Why? Because God gave the name John to St. John the Baptist, as I detail below, and Our Lord Jesus declared that, among all people born of women, none is greater than John the Baptist (Matt. 11:11). In addition, Jesus gave John the inestimable privilege of permitting John to baptize Him (Matt. 3:13–17; Mark 1:9–11; Luke 3:21–23). This event is celebrated following the Epiphany, marking the commencement of Our Lord’s public ministry. The Church’s liturgical calendar has two additional days when we are reminded of this prophet: tomorrow, the Memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist; and on June 24, the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. Only two other births appear on the liturgical calendar: those of Jesus and Mary.

The late Father John S. Dunne, C.S.C. (1929-2013), who taught at the University of Notre Dame, wrote in his A Search for God in Time and Memory (1977) of the relationship between Jesus and John. He dwells on the fact that when Jesus learned of John’s beheading, He withdrew by boat to a “deserted place by Himself” (Matt. 14:13) to grieve and to consider His passion and crucifixion.

When I was in grade school, my parish’s Holy Name Society, a men’s group, attended a Sunday Mass once a month and held pancake breakfasts — perhaps also as frequently. The purpose of the Society was to promote reverence for the names of God and Jesus Christ and to make reparation for blasphemy and profanity. St. Paul wrote that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).

I learned since that the Society was founded in 1274 at the Council of Lyons — the Council to which St. Thomas Aquinas was traveling when he died. (For more information, see Society of the Holy Name – Wikipedia and the entry of “Society of the Holy Name” by Clement N. Thuente, in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia, Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Society of the Holy Name – Wikisource, the free online library.)

I suggest that the name John deserves respect, not the same level of respect as the Triune God or Jesus, of course, but respect nonetheless.

There have been only a few people named, or renamed, by God, or by an angel sent from God. They include:

• Jesus (Matt. 1:21; Luke 1:31)
• Isaac (Gen. 17:19)
• Ishmael (Gen. 16:11)
• Abraham (Gen. 17:5)
• Sarah (Gen. 17:15)
• Israel (Gen. 32:28)
• Solomon (2 Sam. 12:24-25)
• Simon (John 1:40-42; Matt. 16:13-18)

And John the Baptist.

An angel who identified itself with the words “I am Gabriel,” who stand before God” (Luke 1:19), appeared to Zechariah and declared, “Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John” (Luke 1:13). John is a Hebrew name meaning “God is gracious” or “God has shown favor.” At John’s circumcision, neighbors and relatives

were going to name him after his father Zechariah, but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.” They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.” Then they made signs to his [mute] father, to find out what he would like to name the child. He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John” (Luke 1:59-63).

John has become a popular boy’s name throughout the world. Tens of millions have had, or currently have, the name. In its various forms, the name includes: Jean (France), Juan (Spain/Latin America), Giovanni (Italy), Ivan (Russia/Slavic nations), João (Portugal), and Johann or Hans (Germany). It is so common a name that it is used for everyman, as in “John Doe” in English (English also uses “Joe Schmoe” for this purpose), “Jean Dupont” in French, “Juan Pérez,” “Juan Pueblo,” and “Juan Bimba” in Spanish, and “Ivan Ivanovich” (Иван Иванович) in Russian.

It is so common a name, however, that it has become a placeholder for a fool, a simpleton, a womanizer. Thus, in French:

• un jean-foutre means a good-for-nothing, an incompetent, a scoundrel
• un Jean-Jean means an idiot, a simpleton, a naïve fool
• Jean-Bête is a “silly Billy” or clueless person
• Jean Farine is a clown, buffoon, or the butt of a joke
• Gros-Jean is a dimwitted peasant.

In German:

• Der Hanswurst (literally “Hans Sausage”) means a fool, clown, or buffoon
• Hans Dampf in allen Gassen (literally “Hans Steam in all alleys”) means a jack-of-all-trades, a busybody, or a social butterfly
• Hans Guck-in-die-Luft (literally “Hans Look-in-the-air”) means a daydreamer or someone who doesn’t pay attention to where he is walking or for people staring blankly at their smartphones
• Hannebambel means a doofus, idiot, or clumsy simpleton
• Heulhannes means a crybaby or someone who complains constantly
• Schani means a go-fer, errand boy, or a servant
• Der Johannes refers to the male organ.

In Italian:

• Un Don Giovanni means a womanizer, playboy, or seducer
• Fare il Gianni / Fare il Giovanni di turno means to play the fool, act oblivious, or be the gullible guy
• Un Giovannino da due soldi means a cheap, small-time hustler or someone trying too hard to look important
• Nanni and Ninf mean a slow-witted person or a simpleton.

In Spanish:

• Donjuán (or Don Juan) means a womanizer, player, or seducer
• Juan Lanas means a submissive, weak-willed man or a pushover, or also a nitwit or a lazy person
• Buen Juan means a gullible, overly naive, or harmlessly foolish person who wouldn’t hurt a fly.

In Russian:

• Ivan-durak (Иван-дурак) / Ivanushka-durachok (Иванушка-дурачок) (“Ivan the Fool”) refers to those who seem simple-minded but win through luck and a good heart
• Ivan rodstva ne pomnyashchiy (Иван родства не помнящий) (“Ivan who doesn’t remember his kin”) refers to a rootless person who forgets his family or loyalties.

The scope of this essay does not include such usages in languages other than English. I leave that for others. My focus is on English, my tongue. In English, the word john, spelled in lower case, can refer either to a toilet or to the customer of a prostitute. It can refer to a toilet because the inventor of the flush toilet in 1596 was Sir John Harington. It began referring to a customer of a prostitute because, beginning in the 20^th century, customers used the name John to preserve their anonymity. I submit that these two usages take the name of St. John the Baptist in vain. I propose that all Christians avoid such usages — and that non-Christians avoid such usages out of respect for us Christians. There are words other than john for toilet and for a customer of a prostitute.