Ever get that sinking feeling when you bump into your local councillor and can't remember his name?
But you REALLY want to address the issue of potholes on your street, so can't ignore him.
Well, you may be able to avoid any future social humiliation by calling him John. It's your best bet.
It's the most common name among local politicians in Greater Manchester.
There were 26 councillor Johns in the region's 10 councils (before incumbents put their names up for re-election recently).
Councillor John Bell, who represents Hyde Werneth on Tameside council, couldn't stop chuckling when the Manchester Evening News told him.
Speaking through his laughter, he said: "I'm gobsmacked. 26?!
"I was born in '43, during the latter part of the war. It must've been flavour of the year. A lot of people were christened the names of the saints. We've got the spirit of public service, that generation."
Coun John Flanagan, who represents Miles Platting, said: "I think it's quite wise that people vote for Johns.
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"They are very good councillors. We need a few more Johns.
"I like to be part of a group of councillors, but I like to stand out from the crowd as well.
"We are definitely unique. The likes of Pat Karney should change his name by deed poll."
A spokesman for John Leech, who represents Didsbury, said: "Our John is the best John.
"There may be 26 councillor John, but there is most certainly only one councillor John Leech.”
There were 20 councillors Davids in Greater Manchester, and two more listed as 'Dave'.
The region had 15 councillor Pauls; followed by 12 Peters and 12 Michaels.
The first woman’s name - Susan - was seventh in the list.
There were 10 across Greater Manchester, and one 'Sue'.
The analysis - based on records kept by opencouncidata.co.uk - comes in the wake of a new 'councillor census' showing the average age of local politicians across the UK stood at 59 years in 2018.
Only 15 per cent are aged under 45, while 45 per cent are retired.
Some 63 per cent of councillors are male, and 96 describe their ethnic background as white.
The average councillor has served for 9.2 years on their current council.
The proportion of women councillors has been increasing - if slowly - having stood at just 30 per cent 15 years ago.
The overall average age has been gradually dropping, too.
Town halls still have a long way to go to be representative of the population as a whole.
At the time of the last Census, 86 per cent of the population of England and Wales were white, and 51 per cent were women. The average age of a person in the UK is nearer to 40 than 60.
The research into councillors names looked at the first names of 19,778 councillors as declared on their authority websites.
The analysis did not combine different spellings of essentially similar names, and shortened and alternative versions were counted separately.
Councillors who sit on more than one council - for example, a county council and a district council - were only counted once.
Across the UK as a whole, John (648) was the most common name overall.
Different parties, however, had different most popular names.
Among Conservative councillors, David (322) was the most common name.
John (308) was second, with Peter (179) third, Paul (160) fourth and Richard (154) fifth.
Susan (47) was the most common woman's name, down in 27th place.
John (163) was the most common name among Labour councillors, with
David (131) second and Paul (117) third.
Susan (43) was again the most popular women’s name, in 18th place, just ahead of Margaret (40).
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