Roe

A fictitious surname used for an unknown or anonymous person or for a hypothetical person in an illustration.

A lawsuit is generally named for the persons who are parties to it. When the name of a party is unknown, the court clerk may direct that the person be called a fictitious name in the papers of the lawsuit. This also may be done to hide the identity of a person who would needlessly suffer if his name were known—for example, the name of a parent who is giving up a child for ADOPTION or the name of a juvenile charged with a crime.

Frequently used fictitious party names include Richard Roe, Mary Roe, and JOHN DOE.