Littlejohn Surname

28,538th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 18,835 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Scotland

Littlejohn Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a nickname. 'little John,' equivalent to John Little. A mere reversal of order between baptismal name and surname; compare the French Petitjean.

Richard Parvi-Johannis, Cambridgeshire, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

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Littlejohn Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States14,5211:24,9613,142
England1,0301:54,0956,587
Scotland8531:6,276998
Australia8221:32,8414,339
Canada7771:47,4205,782
New Zealand4231:10,7051,868
Jamaica941:30,5312,252
South Africa851:637,38547,411
Wales451:68,7676,014
Thailand261:2,716,859279,944
Northern Ireland191:97,1076,126
Singapore171:323,98313,856
Netherlands121:1,407,26575,423
Germany101:8,050,546248,660
Bermuda101:6,5281,005
Qatar91:262,00030,726
Ecuador81:1,988,23121,385
Nigeria71:25,306,108327,793
Brazil61:35,679,055486,536
Trinidad and Tobago51:272,79511,064
France41:16,605,680368,153
Spain41:11,688,009116,470
South Korea41:12,810,0642,073
China41:341,830,39216,990
Saudi Arabia41:7,713,95437,548
Malta41:107,5681,849
Costa Rica31:1,593,3568,177
Mexico31:41,375,40271,397
Philippines31:33,746,074302,898
Vietnam21:46,323,0275,235
Luxembourg21:290,2718,611
Greece21:5,539,895129,142
United Arab Emirates11:9,162,273135,437
Bahrain11:1,348,60810,432
Azerbaijan11:9,649,12247,873
Afghanistan11:32,153,18360,828
Ireland11:4,708,93929,543
Brunei11:418,7313,893
Switzerland11:8,212,915156,297
Chile11:17,616,47493,597
Portugal11:10,418,24125,048
Pakistan11:178,643,885213,220
Norway11:5,142,286129,201
Nicaragua11:6,021,0908,768
Malaysia11:29,494,225409,885
Denmark11:5,644,71593,155
Israel11:8,557,634182,558
Hong Kong11:7,335,48316,643
Guam11:160,1214,893
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland91:492,20716,355
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland9791:3,824620
England4351:56,0356,652
Wales291:54,0832,718
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States2,2021:22,8062,861

Littlejohn (52) may also be a first name.

Littlejohn Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a nickname. 'little John,' equivalent to John Little. A mere reversal of order between baptismal name and surname; compare the French Petitjean.

Richard Parvi-Johannis, Cambridgeshire, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Parvus Johannes, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Pety Jon et uxor, 1379: ibid.

'Y met hem bot at Wentbreg, seyde Lytyll John': Robin Hood.

Nicholas Peti John, Close Rolls, 35 Henry VI.

1607-8. Hugh Littlejohn, Devon, St. Mary Hall: Register of the University of Oxford.

1760. Married — Robert Littlejohns and Elizabeth Whiting: St. George, Hanover Square.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

Thomas Litilejonhe was admitted burgess of Aberdeen in 1489 (NSCM., I, p. 34), and Robert Litilihon possessed a tenement in Glasgow in 1494 (REG., 469). Arthur Litiljohnne was in 1536 appointed "cordinar to oure soverane lord for all the dais of his life" (RSS., II, 2124), John Litiliohne was burgess of Hamilton in 1541 (LCD., p. 223), and fames Litle Johne was a "notar publict and sherefe clerk of Fyiffe" in 1648 (Fardell, p. 173). Bartholomew Litilljohne witnessed a Sutherland charter of 1562 (OPS., II, p. 633). Litilihonne 1581, Litiliohoun 1584, Litiliohune 1583, Litilione 1542, Litiljohen 1521, Litiljohne 1530, Litilljohne 1633, Litlejohne 1687, Litljohn 1676, Littiljohnne 1601, Lytiljohne 1619; Littlejohne, Litiljohn, Lytiljohn. compare Meiklejohn.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

(English) Little John [v. Little and John] In our 13th-15th cent. A.-French and Latin records this name appears as Peti or Pety Jon or John and Parvus Johannes. In the Middle English ballad ‘Roben Hode and the Potter’ the name of the outlaw’s giant henchman—nicknamed of course by antiphrasis-is written indifferently Lytyll John, Lytell John, Lytel John, Leytell John, Leytyll John; and in ‘Robyn Hode and the Munke’ we have Litul Johne, Litul Jon, Litul Jone, Litull Johne, Litulle Johne, Litulle Jon.

Cp. Micklejohn.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(English) The small man named John (gracious gift of Jehovah), to distinguish him from other Johns.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

See John, a termination. As we have the surname of Robinhood, a sobriquet borrowed from the famous outlaw of Sherwood Forest, it is probable that this name has a similar origin from his famous compeer. It is clear, at least, that the herald who devised the family arms thought so, when he gave, "Argent, three arrows Gules, two in saltier and one in pale, feathered Or, between six trefoils slipped of the second." (Burke's Armory, in nom.) It may be remarked, however, that the French have the corresponding names of Petit-jean and Petitpierre-Little-John and Little-Peter.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

From Littlejoy; a location name in Devon (?).

British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning (1903) by Henry Barber

User-submitted Reference

(English + Scottish + Hebrew) This surname derives from a nickname Little John; given to a man who was small and was called John; with John coming from the Hebrew name Yehohanan/Yohanan meaning Yahweh is Gracious. Also there is a French equivalent of this name Petitjean which means the same as Littlejohn.

- dinn315

Littlejohn Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Littlejohn Come From? nationality or country of origin

The surname Littlejohn is more frequently found in The United States than any other country/territory. It may also appear in the variant forms:. For other possible spellings of this name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Littlejohn? popularity and diffusion

This last name is the 28,538th most widespread family name on a global scale It is held by around 1 in 386,915 people. This last name is predominantly found in The Americas, where 82 percent of Littlejohn reside; 81 percent reside in North America and 81 percent reside in Anglo-North America. It is also the 1,381,723rd most frequently occurring given name in the world It is held by 52 people.

The last name Littlejohn is most commonly occurring in The United States, where it is borne by 14,521 people, or 1 in 24,961. In The United States Littlejohn is primarily found in: South Carolina, where 11 percent live, North Carolina, where 9 percent live and Texas, where 9 percent live. Other than The United States Littlejohn exists in 48 countries. It is also found in England, where 5 percent live and Scotland, where 5 percent live.

Littlejohn Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The prevalency of Littlejohn has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people bearing the Littlejohn last name increased 659 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it increased 237 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it contracted 13 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Wales it increased 155 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it contracted 89 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Littlejohn Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those carrying the Littlejohn surname is primarily Anglican (78%) in Ireland.

In The United States Littlejohn are 8.23% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than the national average, with 55% being registered with the party.

The amount Littlejohn earn in different countries varies significantly. In South Africa they earn 22.56% more than the national average, earning R 291,252 per year; in United States they earn 10.55% less than the national average, earning $38,596 USD per year and in Canada they earn 1.97% more than the national average, earning $50,662 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

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Littlejohn Reference & Research

Littlejohn DNA Website - A web page dedicated to the genetic research of those who bear the surname and its variants.

Littlejohn FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Littlejohn
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis