Johnson last name: U.S. rank #2.
First and last name.
Johnson is one of the twenty-five most common surnames in the United States, so a name alone almost never identifies one person. Recordwell compares locations, age ranges and record history before linking anything.
Possible matches for Johnson
Pick the person you mean. A report is built only after the anchor fields line up.
Illustrative report
- Professional licence, activeanchored
- Property reference, structured recordanchored
- Other people named Johnsonname-only
Searching a common last name
A search engine returns whoever ranks highest, and most people-search sites stack all of them into one profile — mixing addresses, ages and employers that belong to different people.
Recordwell starts from anchor fields. A record joins the report only when it agrees with at least two of them — city, age range, employer or record history. Everything else stays in a separate name-only group, visible but never merged, so you can see what was considered and rejected.
Use the full name
A first and last name is much more useful than a surname alone, especially when the surname ranks among the most common in the Census.
Add a known place
A city or state narrows a common name faster than another general keyword, and the report keeps that location visible next to every match.
Check the labels
Anchored means the record agrees with the identity of the Johnson you are looking for. Name-only means it shares the name and nothing more.
How common the name Johnson is
Figures from the US Census Bureau's published surname file, which is public data about how often a name appears — not a count of anything we hold.
- 2ndRank among US surnames
- 1.86MPeople recorded with this surname
- 622Per 100,000 people
States where Johnson is most common
Johnson is the most listed surname in 5 states, and one of the three most listed in 43 states altogether. Two people who share it are told apart by the fields around the name — city, age range, record history — never by the name itself.
Wisconsinmost listed
Minnesotamost listed
Nebraskamost listed
South Dakotamost listed
North Dakotamost listed
Illinois2nd most listed
Michigan2nd most listed
Virginia2nd most listed
See all 43 states
Washington2nd most listed
Arizona2nd most listed
Massachusetts2nd most listed
Tennessee2nd most listed
Maryland2nd most listed
Missouri2nd most listed
Colorado2nd most listed
Kentucky2nd most listed
Oregon2nd most listed
Oklahoma2nd most listed
Connecticut2nd most listed
Utah2nd most listed
Nevada2nd most listed
Kansas2nd most listed
Idaho2nd most listed
Montana2nd most listed
Delaware2nd most listed
Alaska2nd most listed
Wyoming2nd most listed
Florida3rd most listed
Ohio3rd most listed
Georgia3rd most listed
North Carolina3rd most listed
New Jersey3rd most listed
Indiana3rd most listed
Alabama3rd most listed
Louisiana3rd most listed
Iowa3rd most listed
Arkansas3rd most listed
Mississippi3rd most listed
West Virginia3rd most listed
New Hampshire3rd most listed
Maine3rd most listed
Rhode Island3rd most listed
Vermont3rd most listed
Most frequent surnames as listed by Ancestry, from a review of white-pages listings published in February 2023. Not a census count, and not a count of anything we hold. States with the same position are ordered by their population, which says nothing about how common the name is there.
Official data for Johnson
Johnson surname statistics
In the U.S. Census Bureau's 2020 last-name table, Johnson ranks #2 with 1,858,234 recorded occurrences. The table reports 621.69 occurrences per 100,000 in the population used for the Census surname analysis. These are aggregate decennial data, not a live directory or a count of people who have that surname today.
| Dataset | U.S. rank | Occurrences | Per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 Census | #2 | 1,858,234 | 621.69 |
| 2010 Census | #2 | 1,932,812 | 655.24 |
How Johnson changed from 2010 to 2020
The 2010 Census table listed 1,932,812 Johnson occurrences at rank #2. By the 2020 table, the recorded count decreased by 3.9%. Its rank stayed at #2. This comparison describes a change between two Census tables; by itself it does not explain why the count or rank changed.
Compare Johnson with nearby surnames
Among the surname pages in this directory, nearby 2020 ranks include Smith (#1, 2,369,644 occurrences), Williams (#3, 1,561,395 occurrences), Brown (#4, 1,386,083 occurrences), Jones (#5, 1,383,250 occurrences). These links are useful for navigating the frequency table, but similar ranks do not imply that the names share an origin or that their bearers are related.
How to find a specific Johnson
Because Johnson is a top-ten surname, a last-name-only search is exceptionally broad. A first name is essential, and a city or state usually removes far more ambiguity than adding another general keyword.
- Enter the full name. A first and last name is more useful than Johnson alone.
- Add a reliable place. Use a city or state the person is known to have lived in.
- Compare independent details. Look for agreement across age range, address history, relatives, education, or professional records.
- Do not treat one matching field as proof. A shared name or city can still point to the wrong person.
Use people search by state when the location is known, or follow the step-by-step name-search guide. If the name is incomplete, the broader people-search overview explains which details help narrow a result.
What the surname data can and cannot tell you
A Census surname row can describe national frequency. It cannot identify a particular person, prove a family relationship, establish the origin of an individual, or show where someone currently lives. Recordwell organizes returned records and public online signals for personal research, but important details should be checked against an independent record before you rely on them.
Recordwell is not a Consumer Reporting Agency. Do not use Recordwell reports for employment, tenant screening, credit, insurance, or another decision covered by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Data and methodology
The 2020 values come from the Census Bureau's top-1,000 last-name table and its 2020 last-name report. The comparison row comes from the 2010 surname table. Recordwell calculates the percentage change from the two published counts and reviews this page when the underlying dataset or methodology changes.
Johnson page · reviewed 9 August 2026 · Census surname figures
Questions about Johnson searches
How common is the last name Johnson in the United States?
The U.S. Census Bureau's 2020 last-name table records 1,858,234 Johnson occurrences, rank #2, or 621.69 per 100,000 in the population used for the analysis.
Did Johnson become more or less common between 2010 and 2020?
The recorded count decreased by 3.9%, from 1,932,812 in 2010 to 1,858,234 in 2020. Its rank stayed at #2.
Does the Census count show how many people are named Johnson today?
No. It is an aggregate from the 2020 decennial Census surname table, not a real-time population register or a directory of identifiable people.
How do I find a specific person with the last name Johnson?
Start with the full name and a known city or state. Then compare several independent details, such as age range, address history, relatives, education, or professional records, before deciding that a result is the person you mean.
Can I use Recordwell for hiring or tenant screening?
No. Recordwell is not a Consumer Reporting Agency, and its reports may not be used for employment, tenant screening, credit, insurance, or other FCRA-covered decisions.
How do I find the right Johnson?
Add a city. Recordwell compares anchor fields — location, age range and record history — before linking anything to one person.
Why do results for common last names look messy elsewhere?
Most services merge records that only share a name into a single profile. We keep them apart and label the group that matched on the name alone.
How do I remove my own Johnson listing?
Use the opt-out page, or search yourself and follow the removal checklist in your report. Removal is free and confirmed by email.
Why does a Johnson search return so many people?
Johnson is a common surname, so a name alone rarely identifies one person. The candidates are shown separately with the field that separates them, instead of being merged into one profile.
Can I search by something other than a name?
Not here. The search takes a first and last name; a city narrows it further. An email, phone number or profile link is not accepted as the starting point.