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Johnson

#3,405 in 2025Boys' name

Son of John

Johnson has been given to 7,043 babies in the U.S. since 1880. In 2025 it ranked #3,405 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2000, with 111 recorded.

Babies named Johnson, 2025

1 in 97,500

Johnson over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
05010015018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Johnson: meaning, origin, and history

Son of John

surname transfer and English

What Johnson means

Johnson means “son of John”.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

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.

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Johnson (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Johnson is used in English, Cebuano and Spanish. Its origins include surname transfer and English.

Johnson is recorded as a surname transferred into given-name use.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Johnson is pronounced /ˈd͡ʒɑnsən/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 7,021 boys were recorded with the name Johnson between 1880 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 111 in 2000; its best national rank was #327 in 1905.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #2,221 in 2020 to #3,405 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #1,941 in 2015 to #3,405 in 2025.

In the United States, 22 girls were recorded with the name Johnson between 1917 and 1987. Its highest annual count was 6 in 1917; its best national rank was #4,338 in 1917.

How common is Johnson?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 97,500
34 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 50,200
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#3,405
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
67,586 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Johnson sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 67,586 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Johnson. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Johnsons were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Johnson was born before 1979 — so the typical Johnson is around 46 today.

Median birth year
1979
About 46 years old
Biggest decade
1990s
12.6% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
23.9%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
4,482
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1990s — 12.6% of all recorded uses (884).

Is Johnson rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+152
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
−1,184
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−1,464
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.45×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
30.6%
Peak was 2000 (111)
Years since peak
25
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
13.5% average annual change
Best rank ever
#327
1905

Spellings of Johnson

Johnson is the most-used spelling, taking 60.8% of the 11,552 babies given a near-identical spelling.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Johnson is used

Across 2016–2025, Johnson was most concentrated in California — about 1 in 25,000 boys, against 1 in 35,267 across all states with data. It was least common in North Carolina (1 in 100,000).

14 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in 25,000
  2. 2Florida1 in 33,333
  3. 3New York1 in 33,333
  4. 4Texas1 in 33,333
  5. 5Massachusetts1 in 50,000
  6. 6Tennessee1 in 50,000
  7. 7Georgia1 in 100,000
  8. 8North Carolina1 in 100,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Johnson around the world

Where Johnson ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2025
    #5,137
    in 2025
  • France
    1964–2024
    #4,254
    in 2024
  • Canada
    1991–2023
    #1,853
    in 2023
  • South Australia
    1968–2009
    #708
    in 2009

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Johnson

People whose public names include Johnson, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Johnson by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#3,405
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 1,184
Best rank ever
#327
1905
Peak year
2000
111 that year
First recorded
1880
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
7,021
Count in 2025
34

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#4,338
1917
Peak year
1917
6 that year
First recorded
1917
Last recorded
1987
All-time count
22
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Johnson

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

JohnpaulJohannMadisonBransonBronsonJohnellSampsonJohnieAllisonJohannesAddisonPiersonKaisonWatsonBraysonStetsonCaysonEllisonJohnyColesonGarrisonJohanGibsonColson

Names with a curve like Johnson

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Johnson, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

HamiltonMarshalAngusDentonNevinSampsonCaesarDomenicElieOrrinLavonArmond

Sibling names for Johnson

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Johnson

Top names of 2000, Johnson's peak yearThe 2000s in fullOther names that peaked in 1905Boys' names starting with J