Johnson is a

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

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 A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

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 fa ...

'' John'', literally meaning "son of John". The name ''John'' derives from Latin '' Johannes'', which is derived through Greek ''Iōannēs'' from Hebrew '' Yohanan'', meaning "Yahweh has favoured".

Origin

The name has been extremely popular in Europe since the

Christian era The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used to label or number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means 'in the year of the Lord', but is often presented using "our Lord" instead of "the Lord", ...

as a result of it being given to St John the Baptist,

St John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, Iōánnēs; Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ; ar, يوحنا الإنجيلي, la, Ioannes, he, יוחנן cop, ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ or ⲓⲱ̅ⲁ) is the name traditionally given t ...

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 Ortho ...

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,

Jonsson Jonsson is a surname of Nordic, mostly Swedish, origin, meaning ''son of Jon''. In Iceland the name is a part of the Patronymic name system. Notable people with the surname include: *Åke Jonsson, Swedish motocross racer *Andreas Jonsson (born 19 ...

* Icelandic:

Jónsson Jónsson is a surname of Icelandic origin, meaning ''son of Jón''. In Icelandic names, the name is not strictly a surname, but a patronymic. The name refers to: * Arnar Jónsson (actor) (born 1943), Icelandic actor * Arnar Jónsson (basketball) (bo ...

References

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

Etymology

Origin

Other Germanic languages

See also

References