Johnson
English surname meaning son of John. John descends through Latin and Greek from the Hebrew Yochanan, which says that Yahweh has shown favor.
Johnson in 2025
Johnson was given to 34 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 7,340th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 97,510 babies born.
The history of Johnson
Johnson reached its highest point in 2000, when 111 babies were given the name, ranking 2,787th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 869th, in 1891.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 7,043 babies have been named Johnson. Half of them were born before 1979, which places the name's centre of gravity with Generation X.
Johnson by decade
| Decade | Babies named Johnson | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 126 | 978 |
| 1890s | 155 | 869 |
| 1900s | 221 | 892 |
| 1910s | 528 | 1,401 |
| 1920s | 632 | 1,475 |
| 1930s | 411 | 1,761 |
| 1940s | 472 | 1,855 |
| 1950s | 365 | 2,322 |
| 1960s | 352 | 2,854 |
| 1970s | 274 | 3,741 |
| 1980s | 832 | 2,177 |
| 1990s | 884 | 2,526 |
| 2000s | 879 | 2,787 |
| 2010s | 641 | 4,288 |
| 2020s | 271 | 4,770 |
Where Johnson is heading
Johnson has fallen 55% over the past decade, from 75 babies in 2015 to 34 in 2025.
Names like Johnson
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Johnson.