on l'appelait

they called him

→ on

phrase Rare #35,867

they called him Used to say what someone was called in the past; literally, “one called him.” The pronoun l' can refer to a person or thing, depending on context.

FR: Quand il était petit, on l'appelait Léo.

EN: When he was little, they called him Léo.

On l'appelait Smerdikoff.

He was called Smerdikoff.

— Le Conformiste (1971)

C'est pour ça qu'on l'appelait Bird.

That's why they called him Bird.

— La La Land (2016)

J'ai connu le père, on l'appelait Ray Tout-Court.

I knew the father; his name was Ray Tout-Court.

— Mystic River (2003)

On l'appelait Gentleman Jimmy.

He was known as Gentleman Jimmy.

— Les Affranchis (1990)

Quand j'étais jeune, on l'appelait Il le dit en italien.

When I was young, we called him/her/it... He says it in Italian.

— Vacances à Venise (1955)

C'est comme ça qu'on l'appelait.

That's what we called him.

On l'appelait Madame Bijoux.

She was called Madame Bijoux.

— Titanic (1997)