nametree
← Johnpaulbrowse · build a nametreeJohny →

Johnson

boy name
Origin
English
Syllables
2
Peak era
1990s/2020s
Today
▬ Steady

Torn between Johnson and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

surname meaning 'son of John' (Hebrew, 'God is gracious')

Johnson across languages

One shared root links 47 names across 10 languages.

Shared root: from Hebrew Yochanan "God is gracious", carried through Greek Ioannes and Latin Iohannes into nearly every European language

The constellation

JohnsonEnglish · surname formJohnEnglishJuanSpanishJeanFrenchSeanIrishIanScottishEvanWelshIvanSlavicJoãoPortugueseJohannGerman
37 more branches of this family
JackEnglish · short formJohnnyEnglish · diminutiveJohnnieEnglish · diminutiveJohnieEnglish · variantJhonSpanish · variantJeanneFrench · feminine formJeannieScottish · diminutiveJeanieScottish · diminutiveJeanetteFrench · diminutiveJeannetteFrench · diminutiveJeannineFrench · diminutiveJaneEnglish · feminine formJanieEnglish · diminutiveJayneEnglish · variantJannaEnglish · variantJennieEnglish · diminutiveJoanEnglish · feminine formJoannaEnglish · feminine formJoanneEnglish · variantJoannEnglish · variantJohannaGerman · feminine formJanetScottish · diminutiveJanetteFrench · diminutiveJaniceEnglish · related formJanelleEnglish · related formShawnIrish · variantShayneIrish · variantIvanaSlavic · feminine formGiovannaItalian · feminine formGiannaItalian · short formGianaItalian · variantGianniItalian · diminutiveJuanaSpanish · feminine formJuanitaSpanish · diminutiveHanselGerman · diminutiveJacksonEnglish · surname formJonesWelsh · surname form

Ways to honor John →

How popular is Johnson around the world?

In the United States, 271 babies were named Johnson between 2020 and 2025.

Johnson is on the official records of the United States, Chile, England and Wales, Brazil and Spain.

United States

1 in 80,000

In the United States, 271 babies were named Johnson between 2020 and 2025.

1890speak 1990s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Johnson peaked in the 1990s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

Chile

1 in 89,000

In Chile, 2 boys were registered as Johnson in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.

1920peak 19932021

share of that year’s name registrations

First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021

See the full list for Chile →

England and Wales

1 in 200,000

In England and Wales, 3 boys named Johnson were born in 2025, ranked 5,137th among boys that year.

1996peak 20052025

share of that year’s name registrations

Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales

See the full list for England and Wales →

Brazil

1 in 330,000

At the 2022 census, 680 people in Brazil were named Johnson, ranked 10,817th, with a median age of 41.
Among people named Johnson living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.

1940speak 1990s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022

See the full list for Brazil →

Spain

1 in 350,000

In Spain, 128 residents are named Johnson, ranked 6,780th among men, with a mean age of 45.8 years.

Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025

See the full list for Spain →

Austria

last on record 2021

Johnson is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.

Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)

See the full list for Austria →

Canada

last on record 2023

Johnson is not on the 2024 record for Canada, where names under 5 in a year are excluded at source.

peak 19922024

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)

See the full list for Canada →

Montevideo City

last on record 2003

Johnson is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.

Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial

See the full list for Montevideo →

New Zealand

last on record 2001

Johnson is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.

peak 19962025

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time

See the full list for New Zealand →

South Australia

last on record 2016

Johnson is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

See the full list for South Australia →

Not on the record in Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Ireland, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.

Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Johnson

Most people given the name Johnson in the United States were born between 1970 and 2009. The Johnson you meet today is most often in his 20s or 30s.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Johnson

Cole Brooks Dean Lane Clark Wade

The Johnson deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Johnson truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Johnson fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

Does Johnson fit YOUR family?

nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.

Add Johnson to your family’s tree →
BROWSEAll traditions👶 Baby namesAround the worldAll names🔍 Search a nameName storiesThree-letter namesShort namesVintage revivalsGender-neutralPolishJapaneseCantoneseIrishKoreanIndianMexican American
🌐English ✓EspañolPortuguês
nametree on your phoneDownload on the App StoreGet it on Google Play