NameCensus.

UK surname

Johson

In the 1881 census there were 70 people recorded with the Johson surname, ranking it #23,670 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 48, ranked #35,004, down from #23,670 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Croston, Manchester and Peterborough St John the Baptist. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Balfron and Drymen, East Riding of Yorkshire and Tendring.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Johson is 219 in 1997. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 31.4%.

1881 census count

70

Ranked #23,670

Modern count

48

2016, ranked #35,004

Peak year

1997

219 bearers

Map years

5

1851 to 1998

Key insights

  • Johson had 70 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #23,670 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 48 in 2016, ranked #35,004.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 196 in 1891.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Johson surname distribution map

The map shows where the Johson surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Johson surname density by area, 1998 modern.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Johson over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 101 #17,036
1861 historical 170 #13,763
1881 historical 70 #23,670
1891 historical 196 #15,163
1901 historical 82 #25,019
1911 historical 147 #18,104
1997 modern 219 #16,666
1998 modern 184 #19,037
1999 modern 130 #23,805
2000 modern 101 #27,555
2001 modern 28 #34,936
2002 modern 23 #35,606
2003 modern 24 #35,552
2004 modern 29 #35,270
2005 modern 33 #35,119
2006 modern 34 #35,255
2007 modern 38 #35,153
2008 modern 43 #34,931
2009 modern 41 #35,221
2010 modern 50 #34,833
2011 modern 49 #34,868
2012 modern 36 #35,595
2013 modern 38 #35,534
2014 modern 43 #35,293
2015 modern 44 #35,212
2016 modern 48 #35,004

Geography

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Where Johsons are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Croston, Manchester, Peterborough St John the Baptist, Tweedmouth and Stanway. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Balfron and Drymen, East Riding of Yorkshire, Tendring, Oadby and Wigston and Newham. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Croston Lancashire
2 Manchester Lancashire
3 Peterborough St John the Baptist Northamptonshire
4 Tweedmouth Northumberland
5 Stanway Essex

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Balfron and Drymen Stirling
2 East Riding of Yorkshire 026 East Riding of Yorkshire
3 Tendring 012 Tendring
4 Oadby and Wigston 009 Oadby and Wigston
5 Newham 037 Newham

Forenames

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First names often paired with Johson

These lists show first names that appear often with the Johson surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Johson

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Johson, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Retired Professionals

Group

Spacious Rural Living

Nationally, the Johson surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Johson household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly ageing households typically have no resident dependent children. Most are owner-occupiers and live in detached houses in low density residential developments (although renting is more common than in the rest of the Supergroup). White ethnicity predominates. Residents are typically beyond retirement age but those still in work have managerial, professional or skilled trade occupations. White ethnicity and Christian religious affiliation predominate. Neighbourhoods are located throughout rural UK.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins

Within London, Johson is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins, part of Young Families and Mainstream Employment. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Scattered across London’s Inner and Outer suburbs, residents of these neighbourhoods are typically housed in the social rented sector. Although terraced and semi-detached houses predominate, more residents live in flats than elsewhere in the Supergroup. Neighbourhoods are more ethnically diverse than the Supergroup average. Those identifying as of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and some Black ethnicities are more prevalent. Europeans born in a overseas non-EU countries make up more of the lower proportion of residents identifying as White. Few residents are very old (85+). Employment in distribution, hotels and restaurants is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

Many families in these neighbourhoods have young children. Housing is principally in the social rented sector, in terraced or semi-detached units. While over-all residential densities are low, overcrowding is also prevalent locally. Residents are drawn from a range of ethnic minorities, with many identifying as Black and above average numbers born in Africa. Numbers identifying as of Chinese, Indian or White ethnicity are below average. Levels of proficiency in English are below average. Levels of separation or divorce and incidence of disability are both above average. Education is typically limited to Level 1, 2, or apprenticeship qualifications. Few residents work in professional or managerial occupations but the employment structure is otherwise diverse: it includes skilled trades, caring, leisure and other service occupations, sales and customer service occupations, construction, and work as process, plant, and machine operatives.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Johson is most concentrated in decile 9 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

9
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Johson falls in decile 2 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

2
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Johson is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Johson, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

1881 census detail

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Johson families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Johson surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Middlesex leads with 10 Johsons recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.51x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 10 1.51x
Staffordshire 9 4.02x
Yorkshire 7 1.07x
Shropshire 6 10.47x
Cambridgeshire 5 11.90x
Cumberland 4 7.01x
Surrey 4 1.24x
Lanarkshire 3 1.40x
Lincolnshire 3 2.83x
Cheshire 2 1.37x
Durham 2 1.01x
Essex 2 1.53x
Lancashire 2 0.25x
Bedfordshire 1 2.91x
Caernarfonshire 1 3.73x
Flintshire 1 5.61x
Glamorgan 1 0.87x
Gloucestershire 1 0.77x
Herefordshire 1 3.68x
Oxfordshire 1 2.44x
Suffolk 1 1.24x
Sussex 1 0.89x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Fulham London in Middlesex leads with 7 Johsons recorded in 1881 and an index of 72.77x.

Place Total Index
Fulham London 7 72.77x
Frodesley 6 12000.00x
Foulmire 5 4166.67x
Flimby 4 833.33x
Wolverhampton 4 23.24x
Govan 3 5.66x
Dilhorne 2 540.54x
Hessle In Sculcoates 2 344.83x
Holy Trinity 2 12.65x
Louth 2 82.30x
Paddington London 2 8.20x
Rowley Regis 2 32.05x
Adbaston 1 833.33x
Almeley 1 714.29x
Britwell Salome 1 2500.00x
Cheltenham 1 9.97x
Chorlton On Medlock 1 8.00x
Cottingham 1 70.42x
Eastbourne 1 19.46x
Gibbet Hills 1 10000.00x
Hetton Le Hole 1 40.00x
Hollesley 1 833.33x
Hoole 1 181.82x
Kingston On Thames 1 12.89x
Lambeth 1 1.73x
Mundon 1 1428.57x
Nether Hallam 1 11.25x
Overton 1 526.32x
Penge 1 23.58x
Shefford 1 416.67x
St George Bloomsbury 1 26.32x
Stranton 1 15.06x
Swinton In Rotherham 1 57.47x
Tintwistle 1 128.21x
Wanstead 1 43.67x
Weybridge 1 144.93x
Withington 1 39.53x
Ynyscynhaiarn 1 80.00x
Ystradyfodwg 1 9.87x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Johson surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 5
Elizabeth 4
Ann 2
Emma 2
Jane 2
Annie 1
Berthia 1
Catherine 1
Charlotte 1
Edith 1
Eliza 1
Elizebeth 1
Fanny 1
Maud 1
Norah 1
Rachel 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Johson surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
William 8
George 4
John 4
Thomas 4
Robert 3
Henry 2
James 2
Albert 1
Alfred 1
Arthur 1
Benjamin 1
Bernard 1
Charles 1
Daniel 1
Ernest 1
Joseph 1
Nile 1
Ronal 1
Walter 1

FAQ

Johson surname: questions and answers

How common was the Johson surname in 1881?

In 1881, 70 people were recorded with the Johson surname. That placed it at #23,670 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Johson surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 48 in 2016. That gives Johson a modern rank of #35,004.

What does the Johson map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Johson bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.