Message #100205

[Nyki]

J is for...

John Smith

"John Smith" is a pseudonym used regularly by the Doctor when on contemporary or near-contemporary Earth.  It was first given randomly to the Second Doctor by his companion Jamie on board the Wheel in Space when pressed for a name for the unconscious Doctor - he took it from the manufacturer's name on a piece of equipment.

The name was used by the Third Doctor as his official designation in UNIT records, and has been in use many times since, most notably when he transformed himself temporarily into a human in 1913 to hide from the Family of Blood.

It's probably (though not necessarily) a coincidence that the music his granddaughter Susan is listening to on her first appearance is by a band called "John Smith and the Common Men".