This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of John,' from Han, and suffix -rock (v. Hankin); compare Wilcock, Wilcox, jeffcock, Simcock, and Simcox; v. Cocks or Cox. The 'd' in Handcock is, of course, intrusive. Hancock was more popular than Hankin, and is found in the Hundred Rolls (1373). I do not find any instance of Hankin in those registers.

Hanecock Birune, Yorkshire, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Warynus Hancok, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Agnes Hankok-wyf, 1379: ibid.

Robert Hancok, 1379: ibid.

Willelmus Hancok, 1379: ibid.

1619. Richard Tirrell and "Catherine Hancoxe: Marriage Lic. (London).

1651. Married — John Steele, batchllr, and Abigell Hannkock, vergen: St. Mary Aldermary.

1762. — George Handcock and Eleanor Jackson: St. George, Hanover Square.

= Han(s (q.v.) + the English pet suff. -cock

Nickname for Hans - of Flemish origin.

(English) Descendant of little Hane, a pet form of John (gracious gift Jehovah).

Or De Sprenchaux, from S. in Burgundy. Agilric de Sprenchaux, Lord of Longnor and Westley, Salop, lived t. Stephen (Eyton, Salop, vi. 26). William his son was bailiff at Hencot for the Abbey of Lilleshall, and Lord of H. by gift of the same Abbey (Ib. 368). In 1208 Roger Fitzwilliam, his son, was of Encot, and 1274 Thomas Hancoc, or Hencot, sub-escheator of the king, Salop, set forth the lands held by Sir Robert Springhouse (Sprenchaux, his ancestor, Ib. 29). The name gradually changed to Hancock, and hence derived the Viscounts and Barons Castlemaine.

(English), Little Hans, Johannes, or John.

The Hancocks are now confined to the western half of England, south of the Mersey, and characterise most of the counties from the Land's End in Cornwall to the Peak in Derbyshire. They seem to attain a greater frequency in the south - west of England and in Derbyshire than in other parts of their area. On referring to the Hundred Rolls we find that six centuries ago, namely, in the 13th century, Hancock was represented in Shropshire in the forms of Hancoc and De Hancoc. Robert Hancock was lord mayor of York in 1488 (Drake's "Eboracum"). Coming to Cheshire, we learn from Earwaker that a Richard Hancok resided in East.

The surname Johnson has two main subdivisions-one with, and one without, the intrusive ‘t’ (as in Johnstone). Both of these subdivisions have a wide variety of different spellings. The former often means ‘son of John’, while those variations with the ‘t’ often refer to places-‘tons’ named after John, notably in Scotland. In practice (and often in spelling) it is easy to see how the ‘t’ got lost in pronouncing the name.

The first name John derives from the Ancient Hebrew name Jochanaan, meaning ‘God is gracious’. In its Latin form the name Johannes came west with the returning Crusaders, and during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries it spread all over Europe. Doubtless it was assisted by the popularity of St John the Baptist and St John the Divine (author of the Book of Revelations).

As the name Johannes crossed national and linguistic borders, it became changed into many local variants. In Germany it became Hans, in Holland Jan, in France Jean, in Ireland Sean (pronounced Shawn), and in Scotland Jock.

Early reference to Johnsons began appearing in the English records around the thirteenth century. One John Jonessone appears in the Ancient Deeds for Surrey in 1287. Variations with the intrusive middle ‘t’ appeared early on to denote ‘John from the place (‘ton’ or ‘tun’)’. One Alan de Johannestun appears in the Assize Rolls for Staffordshire in 1227. The variations with the intrusive ‘t’ are more common in the north of England and in Scotland.

In some rare cases the name Johnstone may be a local name deriving from places in Staffordshire and Dumfriesshire (the second syllable in this case being Old English). It is also just possible that this name is a local name for a man from Perth which used to be called St Johnstone (as its football team still is).

The name Johnson is related to the surname Evans (which also means, literally, ‘the dependant of John’-see Evans) and also in this way to many widely differing names-from Jackson to Jones. Jack, like Jenkin, Hankin and Hancock, was a common pet form of John.

Andrew Johnson (1808—75) was the seventeenth President of the United States. He purchased Alaska from the Russians for just $7,200,000 in 1867.

The three founders of the firm of Rolls-Royce were the Hon. C.S. Rolls, Mr F. Henry Royce and Mr Claude Johnson. Having at first contemplated calling the car the Rolls-Royce- Johnson, they decided that it somehow lacked zip and the name Johnson was dropped.

The 1889 flood in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, ranks amongst the world’s all-time disasters. When the South Fork Dam broke after excessive rain, the 450-acre lake vanished in under 40 minutes as a 70-foot-high wall of water roared through the town at over 15 miles per hour. One in 10 of the citizens (well over 2,000 people) was killed and the town was virtually levelled. Johnstown was rebuilt, but in 1977 a freak storm deposited 9 inches of rain in 8 hours and the Laurel Run dam broke, releasing over 100 million gallons of water with the resultant deaths of 77 people, totally destroyed over 500 houses and caused over $200 million in damage.

Famed aviatrix Amy Johnson (1903—41) captured the imagination of the nation with her record-breaking solo flight to Australia in 1930-so much so that the song ‘Wonderful Amy, How Can You Blame Me for Loving You?’ was the smash hit of the year.

Samuel Johnson (1709—84) took a mere eight years (1747— 55) to write his famous dictionary of the English language.

The United Kingdom has towns named Johnston, Johnstone and Johnstone Bridge, Canada has a Johnsen’s Crossing and a Johnstown, New Zealand has a Johnsonville, and there are also Johnstowns in the United States (4) and Ireland (2). There is a Johnson Island off the coast of Chile, a Johnson’s Point in Antigua, and a Johnson mountain range as well as a group of lakes in Australia.

With about 231,000 namesakes Johnson is the 10th most popular surname in England and Wales. There are over 29,000 Johnstons in Scotland where the name is 12th in popularity. In Ireland it is estimated that, with about 16,000 Johnsons, it is the 33rd most popular surname. Johnson is notably popular in and around Teesside where an estimated one in about 160 families bears the name; it is also popular in Edinburgh (one in 195). Around the world Johnsons and Johnstons are most common in Vancouver (one in 183 families), Sydney (one in 224) and Canberra (one in 228). The United States has more Johnsons and Johnstons than the entire population of Clydeside-an estimated total of just over 2,053,000 makes this their 2nd most popular surname.