Johnston
Masculine · “Old English tun”
Johnston, Johnstone and Johnson are three surnames one letter apart and two different formations. The first two are Scottish place names, John's farm in Annandale, and the third is a patronymic. They are constantly merged and were never the same.
How old is the name Johnston?
Johnston first appears in US birth records in 1914 — 111 years ago. The typical Johnston alive today was born around 1996, making them about 29 years old. About 400 people named Johnston are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Johnston most popular?
Johnston peaked in 1914, reaching #2271 nationally. Today it ranks #9714, 7,443 places below that high. See the whole 1914 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From John to Johnston
The story of Johnston
The distinction matters in Scottish history because the Johnstones of Annandale were a border family with a long feud against the Maxwells, culminating in the killing of Lord Maxwell at Dryfe Sands in 1593 and the murder of the ninth Lord Johnstone in 1608. The name is territorial: they held the lands, and the lands were named for a John who lived there before written record. Johnson, by contrast, means what it says, son of John, and could arise anywhere independently, which is why it is one of the commonest surnames in the English-speaking world. Clerks have merged the two for centuries, and American records in particular treat them as interchangeable, so a family called Johnston in the United States may descend from either. The added or omitted t is the only surviving evidence.
Meaning
Old English tun, farm of John
Johnston is a Scottish surname from a place in Annandale, John's tun, meaning John's farm or settlement. Johnstone is a variant with an added e. Johnson is a separate English and Scottish patronymic, son of John. The two families are unrelated and both are numerous. The American peak of the given name is 1914.
How the name formed
- John
- Johnstoun
- Johnston
Related forms: Johnstone · Johnson
Pronouncing Johnston
JON-stun
Two syllables, stress on the first. Johnston and Johnstone are homophones; the final e is silent.
Nicknames for Johnston
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1914
- Most boys named
- 200718 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2271reached in 1914
- Change vs 2024
- −22.2%7 in 2025, from 9
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Johnston in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Johnstone in Scottish — spelling variant
- Johnson in English — related form
Johnstons among us
people named Johnston are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 244,011 born in 2025 was named Johnston
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Johnston sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Johnston beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Johnston in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- John is available inside it as a classic name.
- It is a genuine Scottish surname with a documented history.
- Two syllables with a firm first-syllable stress.
- It reads clearly as a surname.
- Johnson and Johnstone are constantly confused with it.
- The 1914 peak places it over a century ago.
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Johnston
Masculine · #9714 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Johnstons are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 400 people named Johnston are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Johnston in 2025?
- Johnston ranks #9714 among US boy names in 2025, with 7 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Johnston?
- About 1 in every 244,011 US boys born in 2025 was named Johnston — 7 in all.
- Will my child share the name Johnston with classmates?
- Johnston will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Johnston
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Vern#9714 · Abrahm#9714 · Sid#9714 · Hartwell#9714 · Kwan#9714 · Adrean#9714 · Chancey#9714 · Bob#9714
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Johnston? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Johnston and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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