Johnson

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For other uses, see Johnson (disambiguation).

Johnson
Family Name
Pronunciation John-son
Meaning derived from "son of John"
Region of origin England, Scotland
Popularity Behind the Name 
Wikipedia articles All pages beginning with Johnson

The name Johnson is an English and Scottish patronymic surname of Anglo-Saxon language 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 Iōannēs, from Hebrew Yohanan meaning "Jehovah has favoured". The name was 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.[1]

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The name Johnson has had many historical spelling variations such as: Jonessone 1287, 1296; Jonesone 1321; Johnson, Johanson, Jonson 1379; Geynson 1595; Jeynson 1667. [2]

In Ireland, the surname can also be an Anglicisation of the Gaelic Mac Seáin (MacShane). Seán is a Gaelicisation of the Norman-French Jean.[3] The MacShanes were a branch of the O'Neills of Tyrone.[3]

In North America, the surname Johnson has absorbed many derivatives of this patronym from European languages.[1] It is the second most common family name in the United States after Smith. During the 1990 census, approximately 0.81% of people counted had this family name.[4]

[edit] Notable people sharing the surname "Johnson"

Main article: People with the surname Johnson

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Name meanings Johnson name meanings. ancestry.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-22.
  2. ^ Reaney. A Dictionary of English Surnames, 256. 
  3. ^ a b Surname search. Retrieved on 2007-10-22.
  4. ^ United States Census Bureau (9 May 1995). s:1990 Census Name Files dist.all.last (1-100). Retrieved on 25 February 2008.

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[edit] External links

WP Anthroponymy notice This page or section lists people with the surname Johnson. If an internal link for a specific person referred you to this page, you may wish to add the given name(s) to that link.