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Our
Maternal
M. E. JOHNSON
Family Ancestors |
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JOHNSON
Origins Of The Surname
JOHNSON is an English and
Scottish patronymic surname from the personal name JOHN. As an American family name, Johnson has absorbed
patronymics and many other derivatives of this name in continental European
languages. English, Welsh, German
name John ultimately originates from the Hebrew personal
name yo?hanan ‘Jehovah has favored (me with a son)’ or ‘may Jehovah
favor (this child)’. This personal name was adopted into Latin (via Greek) as
Johannes, and has enjoyed enormous popularity in Europe throughout the
Christian era, being given in honor of St. John the Baptist, precursor of
Christ, and of St. John the Evangelist, author of the fourth gospel, as well
as others of the nearly one thousand other Christian saints of the name. Some
of the principal forms of the personal name in other European languages are
Welsh Ieuan, Evan, Siôn, and Ioan; Scottish Ia(i)n;
Irish Séan; German Johann, Johannes, Hans; Dutch Jan;
French Jean; Italian Giovanni, Gianni, Ianni;
Spanish Juan; Portuguese João; Greek Ioannes (vernacular
Yannis); Czech Jan; Russian Ivan. Polish has surnames
both from the western Slavic form Jan and from the eastern Slavic form
Iwan. There were a number of different forms of the name in Middle
English, including Jan(e), a male name. There were also various Middle English feminine versions of
this name (e.g. Joan, Jehan), and some of these were
indistinguishable from masculine forms. The distinction on grounds of gender
between John and Joan was not firmly established in English
until the 17th century. It was even later that Jean and Jane
were specialized as specifically feminine names in English; bearers of these
surnames and their derivatives are more likely to derive them from a male
ancestor than a female. As a surname in the British Isles, John is
particularly frequent in Wales, where it is a late formation representing
Welsh Siôn rather than the older form Ieuan (which gave rise to
the surname Evan). As an American family name this form has absorbed various
cognates from continental European languages. (1) First found in
Lincolnshire, where the Johnson family had been granted lands by Duke William
on his conquest of England in 1066. Some of the first settlers of this name
or some of its variants were: Alice Johnson, who settled in Virginia in 1635;
as did Abraham Johnson in 1648; Benjamin Johnson, who immigrated to the
Barbados in 1660; Thomas Johnson, who sailed to St. John's, Newfoundland in
1666. (2) (1)
Dictionary of American
Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4 Family Facts (Ancestry.com) |
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JOHNSON
Variations of the
Surname
The complexity of
researching records is compounded by the fact that in many cases an ancestors
surname may have been misspelled. This
is especially true when searching census documents. Spelling variations include: Johnson, Joneson, Jonson, Joynson
and others. The Soundex system was
developed in an effort to assist with identifying spelling variations for a
given surname. Soundex is a method of indexing names in the 1880, 1900, 1910,
and 1920 US Census, and can aid genealogists in their research. Soundex Code for Johnson is J525. Other surnames sharing the
J525 Soundex code: JAMESON | JAMIESON | JAMISON | JANSEN | JANSON | JANSSEN | JANSSON | JANZEN | JEMISON | JENKIN | JENKINS | JENKINSON | JENSEN | JOHANNSEN | JOHANSEN | JOHANSON | JOHANSSON | JONSON | JONSSON | Source: Surname Resources at ROOTSWEB |
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Contact Information
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Email: Pony
Express: Tom |
Email: Snail mail: Fred
USA |
