Johnson History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Johnson

What does the name Johnson mean?

Johnson is a name of ancient Norman origin. It arrived in England with the Norman Conquest of 1066. Johnson is a name that comes from the given name John and the name literally means “son of John.” 1 The given name John is derived from the Hebrew name Johanan, which means Jehovah has favored. The name was extremely popular in the Middle Ages as a result of the numerous connections between the name John and the Christian Church.

“With the exception of the south – western counties, where it is absent or conspicuously rare, this name is distributed all over England, but in much less numbers in the south than in the midlands and in the north. The counties most conspicuous for the number of Johnsons are Cambridge, Cheshire, Derby, Durham, Lancashire, Leicester and Rutland, Lincoln, Norfolk, Northumberland, Notts, Stafford, Warwick, and York.” 2 Johnson is the 10th most popular surname in England and Wales.

Early Origins of the Johnson family

The surname Johnson was first found in Lincolnshire, where many of the ancient and leading houses of the family name claim descent originally from the house of FitzJohn in Normandy, particularly that of one of the leading branches and oldest, the Johnsons of Ayscough-Fee. 3

Later, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 list many of the name: Willelmus Joneson; Willelmus Johnson, 1379; Robertus Johanson; Juliana Jonesson; Ricardus Joneson; and Robertas Jonson. 1

Johnson Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person’s name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Johnson, Joneson, Jonson, Joynson and others.

Early Notables of the Johnson family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

• Daniel Johnson (1629-1675), an English buccaneer born in Bristol, who sailed against the Spanish during the late 17th century becoming known among the Spanish as “Johnson the Terror”
• Sir Nathaniel Johnson (1644-1713), an English soldier and a Member of Parliament for Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1680-1689)
• Sir Henry Johnson (c. 1659-1719) of The Gate House, Blackwall, Middlesex
• Maurice Johnson (1688-1775), who founded the Spalding Gentlemen’s Society, a forum of discussion for local men who over the years have included Sir Isaac Newton and Alfred Lord Tennyson