2000
#6,254
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,028
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.86
Rare Last name
Johanson
Son of Johan, a Scandinavian form of John, meaning "God is gracious."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,525 Americans carry the last name Johanson. That puts it at #6,728 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 62,037 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Johanson surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Johanson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.5K
1 in 62,037
Census rank
#6,728
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,818 bearers of the surname Johanson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6728th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Johanson, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Johanson
The surname Johanson originated in Scandinavia, particularly in Sweden and Norway. It is a patronymic name, meaning it derived from a father's given name Johan, which is the Swedish and Norwegian form of John. The suffix "-son" means "son of" in these Scandinavian languages.
During the Middle Ages, many Scandinavian people only had one name, often derived from their father's name. As population grew and more clarity was needed, surnames like Johanson became more common, indicating the person was the son of a man named Johan.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Johanson can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian diplomas and documents dating back to the 12th century. The name appears in various spellings, such as Johannesson and Johansson.
In the late 16th century, a man named Olof Johanson was recorded as a resident of Gävle, a city in central Sweden. He was likely named after his father, Johan, following the patronymic naming tradition.
Another early example is Nils Johanson, a Swedish soldier who fought in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) under King Gustavus Adolphus. He was born around 1600 in Småland, Sweden.
In the 18th century, a prominent figure with the surname was Johan Johanson Nauckhoff (1677-1751), a Swedish politician and landowner who served as the Lord of the Realm and Governor of Uppsala County.
During the 19th century, Anders Johanson (1816-1891) was a Swedish-American author and journalist who immigrated to the United States in 1842 and became a vocal advocate for Swedish immigration to the Midwest.
Another notable individual was Johan August Johanson (1861-1927), a Swedish-American businessman and industrialist who founded the J.A. Johanson Manufacturing Company in Chicago, which produced metal products for the construction industry.
As the surname Johanson spread beyond Scandinavia, it evolved into various spellings and forms, such as Johnson, Johansen, and Jansen, reflecting the linguistic influences of different regions and cultures.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Johanson
Among Census respondents with the surname Johanson, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Johanson bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Johanson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.0% · 4,383
- Two or more races3.6% · 172
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 133
- Black or African American1.2% · 56
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 38
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 36
Timeline
Historical Census data for Johanson
Johanson appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#6,674
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,061
+33 bearers (+0.7%)
Per 100,000 1.72
Rank movement Down 420 places
2020
#6,728
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,818
-243 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 1.61
Rank movement Down 54 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,254 | 5,028 | 1.86 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,674 | 5,061 | 1.72 | +33 bearers (+0.7%) | Down 420 places |
| 2020 | #6,728 | 4,818 | 1.61 | -243 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 54 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Johanson surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #6,674 | #6,728 | -0.8% |
| Count | 5,061 | 4,818 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.72 | 1.61 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Johanson bearers went from 5,061 to 4,818 (-4.8% change). The surname moved down 54 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,674 to #6,728.
FAQ
Johanson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Johanson?
Name Census estimates that about 5,525 living Americans carry the surname Johanson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 62,037 residents.
How common is Johanson?
Johanson ranks #6,728 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.61 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,818 people with the surname Johanson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,525), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.61 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Johanson.
Has Johanson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Johanson went from 5,061 recorded bearers to 4,818. That is a decrease of 243 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,674 to #6,728.
What does the Census say about the background of Johanson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Johanson, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Johanson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.0% (4,383 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Johanson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.0%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Hispanic (2.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Johanson (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Johanson mean?
Son of Johan, a Scandinavian form of John, meaning "God is gracious." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Johanson (1.61 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Johanson?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.