Johnson

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ORIGIN AND HISTORY

Johnson has both English and Scottish roots and is "patronymic from the personal name John." Originally most likely to have been so derived from "son of John," the name may also have older and deeper biblical connotations reverting back to more non-secular references. ^[1] It also has a Hebrew translation meaning "Jehovah has favored."

POPULARITY

In 1990, Johnson was the 2nd most popular surname in the United States.^[1]

According to the Social Security Administration, Johnson has not ranked as a boy name in the top 1000 names in the United States since 1987. During that year it ranked 950th, actually a slight recovery from the period from 1949 through 1981 when it did not make the top ranking list at all. Over the past 100 years, Johnson was at its most popular during the first 10 years of the last century. Never exceeding a ranking beyond 539th (in 1910), Johnson maintained a presence from then until 1930.

FACTS

• Johnson is also a slang term for the penis. Perhaps from about 1863 and as a parallel reference to the British term "John Thomas" ^[1]
• The Johnson Smith Company was founded in 1914 as a mail order gift and gag company that recently celebrated its 90th anniversary. It has achieved almost a cult status for its years of selling joy buzzers, fake vomit, x-ray specs and other merchandise through magazines such as Popular Mechanics and Science Digest magazine. ^[1]
• The Johnson Act of 1934 "prohibited foreign nations in default from marketing their bond issues in the United States." ^[1]

NAMESAKES

• Johnson is a city in Washington County Arkansas. The 2000 population was 2,319.
• Johnson is an unincorporated town in Montgomery Township, Gibson County.
• Johnson City is a city in and the county seat of Stanton County, Kansas. The population in 2000 was 1,528.
• Johnson is a town in Lamoille County, Vermont. The population was 3,274 in 2000. ^[1]
• Johnson C. Smith University is a private liberal arts college in Charlotte, North Carolina.

FAMOUS PERSONS

• Howard Deering Johnson (1897 – 1972) was an American entrepreneur and businessman who founded the Howard Johnson's motel chain.
• John "Liver-Eating" Johnson (c.1824 – 1900) was an American woodsman and "mountain man" who lived in the American West. Johnson's life was the basis for the fictional character "Jeremiah Johnson." ^[1]
• Lyndon B. Johnson (1908 - 1973) was the 36th President of the United States. ^[1]

Author: Mike Szimanski

NOTES