whatshername
That woman, um...
Whatshername is an informal placeholder for a woman or girl whose name you can't recall or don't know.
It functions as a noun standing in for the forgotten name itself: I ran into whatshername from accounting today.
The male equivalent is whatshisname.
Both terms suggest casual dismissiveness or genuine forgetfulness, depending on context.
Placeholder for someone unspecified
- Jane DoePlaceholder for unknown woman
- someoneUnnamed individual
- somebodyUnidentified individual
- herFemale object pronoun
she · whomever · thingy · whatchamacallit · nameless · faceless · anonymous · unidentified
Brief forgetting episode
- blankingErasing or forgetting
- drawing a blankUnable to remember
- brain freezePain from cold foods
- mental blockInability to retrieve thoughts
slipped my mind · forgetting · absentminded · distracted · senior moment · spacing out · fuzzy memory
Lacking significance or weight
- forgettableUnlikely to be recalled
- insignificantLacking importance or consequence
- irrelevantNot pertinent
- nobodyInconsequential person
nonentity · unremarkable · unmemorable · interchangeable · generic · ordinary · nondescript · faceless
so-and-so
Placeholder for someone unspecified
her · she · whomever · thingy · whatchamacallit · nameless · faceless · anonymous · unidentified · unknown
memory lapse
Brief forgetting episode
- blankingErasing or forgetting
- drawing a blankUnable to remember
- brain freezePain from cold foods
mental block · slipped my mind · forgetting · absentminded · distracted · senior moment · spacing out · fuzzy memory
unimportant
Lacking significance or weight
- forgettableUnlikely to be recalled
- insignificantLacking importance or consequence
- irrelevantNot pertinent
nobody · nonentity · unremarkable · unmemorable · interchangeable · generic · ordinary · nondescript · faceless · anonymous
- placeholdersplaceholder, bar, blank, dummy, filler
- thingamajigsthingamajig, thingamabob, whatchamacallit, doohickey, doodad
whatshernamehousehold name
Widely recognized person or brand
by name · celebrity · icon · legend · specifically