Johnson (surname)
| Language(s) | English |
|---|---|
| Origin | |
| Meaning | "son of John" |
| Region of origin | England, Scotland, Ireland, Scandinavia |
| Other names | |
| Related names | Di Giovanni, Hovanessian, Ioannou, Ivanenko, Ivanov, Ivanović, Ivanovski, Jānsons, Janavičius, Jonavičius, Janowicz, Jansen, Jansons/Jansone, Janssen, Jensen, Johansson, Johnston, Johnstone, Jonson, Jonsson, Johnsson, Jones, Jovanović, MacIain, Mac Seáin, Mac Eoin, McKeon, Juánez, Ioannidis |
| [1][2] | |
Johnson is an English, Scottish and Irish name of Norman origin. The name itself is a patronym of the given name John, literally meaning "son of John". The name John derives from Latin Johannes, which is derived through Greek Ἰωάννης Iōannēs from Hebrew יוחנן Yohanan, meaning "Yahweh has favoured". 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.[3] Johnson is the tenth most common surname in the United Kingdom,[1] and second most common in the United States.[4]
Description
In North America, the surname Johnson has absorbed many variants of this patronym from European languages,[3] as well as the Danish Jørgensen (which does not share its root with Johnson, but is derived from Latin Georgius). It is the second most common family name in the United States after Smith. During the 1990 census, approximately 0.81 per cent of people counted had this family name.[5]
In Ireland, Johnson is also found as an anglicisation of the Gaelic surnames Mac Seáin (McShane) and Mac Eoin (McKeown).[6]
Notable people sharing the surname Johnson
- Samuel Johnson (1709–1784), English author
- Andrew Johnson (1808–1875), 17th President of the United States
- Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973), 36th President of the United States
- Boris Johnson (born 1964), British politician
- Earvin "Magic" Johnson (born 1959), American basketball player and businessman
See also
References
- ^ a b British Surnames
- ^ "1990 US Census 1990 Name Files".
- ^ a b Name meanings "Johnson name meanings". ancestry.com. Retrieved 2007-10-22.
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help) - ^ http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1990_Census_Name_Files_dist.all.last_%281-100%29
- ^ United States Census Bureau (9 May 1995). s:1990 Census Name Files dist.all.last (1-100). Retrieved on 25 February 2008.
- ^ http://www.selectsurnamelist.com/johnson.html
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