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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 A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a ...
''
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...
'', literally meaning "son of John". The name ''John'' derives from
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''
Johannes Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as "John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, ''Ioannes''), itself derived from the Hebrew name '' Yeh ...
'', which is derived through
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
''Iōannēs'' from
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
''
Yohanan Yohanan, Yochanan and Johanan are various transliterations to the Latin alphabet of the Hebrew male given name ('), a shortened form of ('), meaning "YHWH is gracious". The name is ancient, recorded as the name of Johanan, high priest of the S ...
'', meaning "Yahweh has favoured".


Origin

The name has been extremely popular in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
since the Christian era as a result of it being given to
St John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
, St John the Evangelist and nearly one thousand other
Christian saints In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ort ...
.


Other Germanic languages

*
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
:
Johnsson Johnsson is a Swedish surname meaning "son of John". People with this surname include: * Christofer Johnsson, Swedish heavy metal musician * Kim Johnsson, Swedish ice hockey player * Peter Johnsson (born 1962), Swedish politician * Sonja Johns ...
, Jonsson * Icelandic: Jónsson


See also

* List of people with surname Johnson *
Gjoni (Gjonaj) Gjon (definite form: ''Gjoni'') is an Albanian male given name, clan, surname and onomastic element. As given name Etymology and history ''Gjon'' as a given name is a form of the English name John. It is the name of the apostle Saint John in ...
*
Ioannou Ioannou or Joannou () is a Greek surname, derived from the given name John (). Notable people with surname Ioannou or Joannou: People Ioannou * Demetris Ioannou (born 1968), Cypriot footballer *Dimitrios Ioannou (1861-1926), Greek general *Dimi ...
* Jensen * Johansson * Johns *
Johnsson Johnsson is a Swedish surname meaning "son of John". People with this surname include: * Christofer Johnsson, Swedish heavy metal musician * Kim Johnsson, Swedish ice hockey player * Peter Johnsson (born 1962), Swedish politician * Sonja Johns ...
* Johnston * Johnstone *
Jones Jones may refer to: People *Jones (surname), a common Welsh and English surname *List of people with surname Jones * Jones (singer), a British singer-songwriter Arts and entertainment * Jones (''Animal Farm''), a human character in George Orwell ...
*
Jonson Jonson is a surname, and may refer to: * Ben Jonson (c. 1572 – 1637), English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor * Fredric Jonson (born 1987), Swedish professional football player * Gail Jonson (born 1965), former medley and butterfly swimm ...
* Jonsson *
Jovanović Jovanović ( sr-Cyrl, Јовановић, ) is the most common Serbian surname. It derives from '' Jovan'', which is comparable to John in English. The part ''ov'' designates possession: ''Jovanov'' means ''John's''. The suffix ''ić'' is a dimin ...


References

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