# Johnston (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/johnston/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A Scottish habitational surname. from a place in Dumfriesshire, meaning "John's town".

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 131,373 |
| US rank (2010) | 225 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 2,350 people |
| Change since 2000 | +1.9% (128,935 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈd͡ʒɑn.stən/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From John + -s- + -ton.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Johnston in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 92% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 2.4% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.6% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.8% |
| Two or more races | 1.8% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Johnston in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.

## People named Johnston

- Kristen Johnston, American actress (born 1967)
- Joe Johnston, American film director and effects artist
- Daniel Johnston, American musician (1961–2019)
- Ollie Johnston, American animator (1912-2008)
- Bruce Johnston, American musician (born 1942)
- Reginald Johnston, British diplomat and academic (1874–1938)
- Michael Johnston, American actor (born 1996)
- Bill Johnston, American tennis player (1894–1946)
- Craig Johnston, Australian footballer (born 1960)
- Frances Benjamin Johnston, American photographer, photojournalist (1864-1952)
- Donald Johnston, American rower (1899-1984)
- David A. Johnston, American volcanologist (1949–1980)

and 41 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Johnstone.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.