Prettyjohn Surname

3,485,539th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 32 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
Wales

Prettyjohn Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of John,' a Welsh surname. John was never an English surname. Johnson monopolized the honours.

Edward ap-John, archdeacon, County of Caermarthen, 1509: History and Ant.

Read More About This Surname

Prettyjohn Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England271:2,063,63279,942
Wales41:773,63329,106
South Africa11:54,177,704343,732
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England331:738,64834,140
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States61:8,369,781355,680

Prettyjohn Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of John,' a Welsh surname. John was never an English surname. Johnson monopolized the honours.

Edward ap-John, archdeacon, County of Caermarthen, 1509: History and Ant. St. David's.

Robert ap-Edward John, of Bangor, 1599: Wills at Chester.

William ap-Thomas John, of Pulford, 1606: ibid.

Edward ap-John, of Hanmer, laborer, 1584: ibid.

1666. Married — Robert Rait and Charity John: St. James, Clerkenwell.

1751. — Thomas John and Joanna Russell: St. George's Chapel, Mayfair.

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

This surname is derived from a nickname. 'Pretty john.' But possibly an English corruption of the French Petit-jean. John was so very common in the 13th and 14th centuries, that such nicknames as Littlejohn, Properjohn, or Micklejohn were given in order to secure identity.

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

From Heb. Jehohhan through Greek Ioannes, Latin Ioannes, is in Gaelic lain.

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

This baptismal name, which is of Norman introduction, has rarely passed into a surname. The Lond. Direct, for 1852 affords but one instance. It has been, however, the source, in various modified forms, of a considerable number of names, some of which are amongst the most common in the whole circle of our nomenclature. Its immediate derivative, Johnson, and its Welsh genitive form, Jones, substantiate this assertion; but we have besides Johns, Johnes, Joanes, Johncock, Janson, Jannings, Jennings, Jenks, Jenkyn, Jenkins, and Jinkins, Jenkinson, and perhaps Janes and Jenson. The Flemish nickname Hans from Johannes, seems to be the root of Hanson, Hancock, &c. Jack and Jackson might seem to claim the same parentage, but I think there is more reason for affiliating them upon James (See Jack).

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

(Hebrew.) Gracious; God's grace.

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

Prettyjohn Last Name Facts

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

The last name Prettyjohn is borne by more people in England than any other country/territory. It may also occur in the variant forms:. For other possible spellings of this surname click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Prettyjohn? popularity and diffusion

This surname is the 3,485,539th most prevalent surname globally It is held by approximately 1 in 227,735,810 people. This surname is mostly found in Europe, where 97 percent of Prettyjohn are found; 97 percent are found in Northern Europe and 97 percent are found in British Isles.

This surname is most frequent in England, where it is borne by 27 people, or 1 in 2,063,632. In England Prettyjohn is most numerous in: Staffordshire, where 41 percent live, Nottinghamshire, where 15 percent live and City of Bristol, where 11 percent live. Outside of England Prettyjohn is found in 2 countries. It also occurs in Wales, where 13 percent live and South Africa, where 3 percent live.

Prettyjohn Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Prettyjohn has changed through the years. In England the number of people carrying the Prettyjohn last name fell 18 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Pretteyjohn950/
Prettejohn90396/
Prittyjohn900/
Prettijohn900/
Prestejohn8017/
Prestijohn8010/
Perdyjon6717/
Perdejon671/
Prestoin670/
Pardijon5647/
Perdijon561/
Pritijani5321/
Bertajoni5311/
Piratijan531/
Brittojan531/
Piratajani509/
Partejayan501/

Search for Another Surname

The name statistics are still in development, sign up for information on more maps and data

By signing up to the mailing list you will only receive emails specifically about name reference on Forebears and your information will not be distributed to 3rd parties.

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 Prettyjohn
  • 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