This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of John,' from diminutive Jenkin; compare Wilkin, Watkin, Tompkin, Simpkin, &c. The 'g' in Jenking is excrescent, as in Jennings. The tendency at first was to Jonkin, but the influence of the N. French Jenin was too strong; v. Jennings.

Adam Janekyn, Somerset, 1 Edward III: Kirby's Quest.

Johannes Wayte, et Agnes uxor ejus, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Johannes serviens ejus, 1379: ibid.

Robertus Jonkinson, 1379: ibid.

The last three entries occur together.

Alicia Jonkyn, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Johanna Jonkyn-wyf, 1379: ibid.

Johannes Jonkynson, 1379: ibid.

Jenkin Vaughan, prebendary of St. David's, 1621: History and Ant. St. David's.

1602. Ralph Jenkinson, alias Johnson, of Longton: Wills at Chester.

Jenkin’s (Son), Jenikin’s Son, v. Jenkin.

“Little John” in Old English.

(Welsh, Scottish, English) The son of little Jen or Jenk, pet variants of John (gracious gift of Jehovah).

From Jenks or John, and the patronymic termination ings, belonging to, or son of John.

(English), Jenkin's, or Little John's. (variant: Atkins.)

From the Dutch, Jenck, Jenk, Jenkens; from the German, Jenke; a personal name.

Jenkins. —This name has its home in South Wales and Monmouthshire, where it is very numerous. Like other Welsh names it has spread itself to the southward and eastward, though not nearly to the extent of some of the other common names of the Principality. In Cornwall it occurs in numbers, generally in the form of Jenkin. Its isolated appearance in Kent is somewhat remarkable. In the northern part of England, especially in Lancashire and Yorkshire, its place is supplied by Jenkinson.

The usual explanation that Jenkins is a name of Flemish type, probably introduced by the Flemings who settled in numbers in South Wales in the reign of Henry I., is to some extent supported by the fact that the great home of the name is now in South Wales and Monmouthshire. It is singular, however, that the name, usually as Jenkin, should be numerous in Cornwall. Cornwall is very Welsh with reference to some of its most frequent names, such as Roberts, Phillips, Williams, Richards, Thomas, Jenkin, Harris, James, &c., which, in the intervening counties of Devon and Somerset are usually much less numerous. This close resemblance in family nomenclature between two isolated regions that possess a similar racial history is very remarkable.

Jenkins it is said to be a name introduced by the Flemings who settled in South Wales in the reign of Henry I. Its distribution, which much resembles that of Jenkins, supports this explanation. However, both names are now Welsh by appropriation for several centuries. Like many other Welsh names, it has only become a settled surname in comparatively modern times, and perhaps its adoption as such is more recent than in the case of most of the other names. Thus, whilst the Brecon family of Watkins carries its pedigree back four centuries, it has only possessed a settled surname for two centuries, the family names previously being Watkin, Rees, Price, etc. (Jones' "Brecknockshire").

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.