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    The surnameJohnson

    A patronymic surname, the 2nd most common in the United States.

    Pronounced /ˈd͡ʒɑnsən/ 2 syllables Soundex J525 Also a first name

    Johnson: #2 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#1,000Archer#10,001Dubon Johnson #2, 1,932,812 people Johnson: #2 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #160,975Doriott#100Jimenez Johnson #2, 1,932,812 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Johnson is more common than 99.9% of them.

    Origin

    A patronymic surname from John + -son, literally “son of John”. * In the U.S. the name Johnson has been adopted by numerous European immigrant families originally named Johansson, Johnsson, Johansen, Jonsson, etc. * Doublet of Johansson, Johansen, Jansen, and Hansen.

    Johnson is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 1,932,812 people named Johnson in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 160 Americans. That is up 4.1% since 2000, when the Census counted 1,857,160.

    #2
    rank among US surnames
    1,932,812
    people in 2010
    655
    per 100,000 Americans
    +4.1%
    change since 2000 (was #2)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #1Smith2,442,977126
    #2Johnson1,932,812160
    #3Williams1,625,252190
    #4Brown1,437,026215
    #5Jones1,425,470217
    #6Garcia1,166,120265
    #7Miller1,161,437266

    Who is named Johnson

    Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

    59% of people named Johnson identified as white (not Hispanic), 35% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.6% as two or more races.

    • White (not Hispanic) 59%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 35%
    • Two or more races 2.6%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.4%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.9%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous Johnsons

    436 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
      24th president of Liberia, born 1938
    • Dwayne Johnson
      American actor and professional wrestler (born 1972)
    • Jimmie Johnson
      American racing driver, born 1975
    • Magic Johnson
      American basketball player and entrepreneur (born 1959)
    • Katherine Johnson
      African-American mathematician, 1918–2020
    • Dakota Johnson
      American actress and model (born 1989)
    • Philip Johnson
      American architect (1906–2005)
    • Robert Johnson
      American blues singer and guitarist, 1911–1938
    • Don Johnson
      American actor and singer (born 1949)
    • Ben Johnson
      American film actor (1918–1996)
    • Michael Johnson
      American sprinter (born 1967)
    • Abigail Johnson
      American businesswoman, business executive, heiress, billionaire, born 1961

    Notable Johnsons come mostly from the United States (397), Australia (13) and the United Kingdom (11).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Variant spellings

    Surnames that sound like Johnson

    Johnson has the Soundex code J525, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code J525.

    Questions

    Where does the surname Johnson come from?
    A patronymic surname from John + -son, literally “son of John”. * In the U.S. the name Johnson has been adopted by numerous European immigrant families originally named Johansson, Johnsson, Johansen, Jonsson, etc. * Doublet of Johansson, Johansen, Jansen, and Hansen.
    How common is the surname Johnson?
    1,932,812 people in the United States had the surname Johnson in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 160 Americans. It ranked 2nd of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Johnson?
    In the 2010 Census, 59% of people named Johnson identified as white (not Hispanic), and 35% as Black (not Hispanic).
    Who is the most famous person named Johnson?
    Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, 24th president of Liberia, followed by Dwayne Johnson.