Johnson 1920 HighPlains.jpg

Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a habitational name.

Etymology

The name itself is a patronym of the given name ''John (first name), John'', literally meaning "son of John". The name ''John'' derives from Latin ''Johannes'', which is derived through Greek language, Greek ''Iōannēs'' from Hebrew ''Yohanan'', meaning "Yahweh has favoured".

Origin

The name has been extremely popular in Europe since the Christian era as a result of it being given to St John the Baptist, St John the Evangelist and nearly one thousand other Christian saints.

Other Germanic languages

* Swedish language, Swedish: Johnsson, Jonsson
* Icelandic language, Icelandic: Jónsson

See also

* List of people with surname Johnson
*Gjoni (Gjonaj)
*Ioannou
*Jensen (surname), Jensen
*Johansson
*Johns (surname), Johns
*Johnsson
*Johnston (surname), Johnston
*Johnstone (surname), Johnstone
*Jones (surname), Jones
*Jonson
*Jonsson
*Jovanović

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson
English-language surnames
Patronymic surnames
Surnames of English origin
Swedish-language surnames
Surnames from given names