I dont know where half of me comes from. my last name is johnson..any ideas?.?

Question

my father passed away when i was young. my mother has always avoided the topic of him so its im possible to ask. but where do i come from

Answer 1

You can see from the other answers that Johnson is a last name that has several origins.  I have Johnson's in my line too and they have yet another origin------DUTCH!!  The original name was Jansen, but when they immigrated back in the 1860's, half of the family kept Jansen and the other half took Johnson.  

The point I am trying to make is that with a multinational name like Johnson, the only way you are going to know for sure is if you start from yourself and work back.  If you have your fathers name and maybe the name of his parents, that is a great start.  If you don't then try to get a copy of his obituary.  Many times, survivors are listed and if  he was young when he passed away, there is a good chance his parents are listed in his obituary.  Once you ascertain that information, I would research his parents and collect, birth, marriage, and death dates and places.   If you continue back in this manner, the answers will reveal themselves to you.  It isn't easy, so be patient.  Remember that Rome wasn't built in a day.     I hope this helps.  Take care and good luck,

Answer 2

This is what www.ancestry.com has to say about the name,

Johnson Name Meaning and History

English and Scottish: patronymic from the personal name John. As an American family name, Johnson has absorbed patronymics and many other derivatives of this name in continental European languages. (For forms, see Hanks and Hodges 1988.)

hope this helps.

Answer 3

Your father was either European or an African American. The chances of him being Chinese (or any other Asian ethnicity) are very small. Lots and lots of German people named "Johanson" (son of John, in German) changed their name to Johnson in the USA. So did Poles, Hungarians, French, Belgians and many others whose name meant "Johnson" in their language. Odds are your dad wasn't Italian, Spanish or Greek. So, he was probably northern European; north of Italy, anyway.

If your mother is white and you are the color of coffee with a lot of cream in it, your dad was probably African-American.

Beyond that you'd have to ask around or buy vital records. His death certificate might have his race on it. It might have his parents' names. His Social Security Application is $27, but would have both his mother's maiden name and his father's name on ot.

If she is avoiding the subject, there is a chance he didn't pass away. You could be adopted to a single mother, or the result of rape or incest, or a fling she had when she was young and foolish. He may have married her but deserted his family. Saying he is dead would prevent you from trying to find him.

Johnson is the second most common name in the USA. It is quite common in the other English-speaking countries of the world too. If a lady was looking to hide the facts around her child's birth, giving "Mr. X" the name "Johnson" and telling the child he died when the child was young would be an easy way to blur the facts.

Have you seen your birth certificate? (You need it to apply for a driver's license.) Does it correspond to your mother's story?

If you know exactly when your father died (Month, day, year) and where (City, county, state) you can sometimes find an obituary, which may put a little (a very little) flesh on these mysterious bones.

Don't obsess. Live a good life. You can be strong, honest and hard-working without a father.

Ask your mom to put something in her will about him, to be read after she is dead and beyond embarrassment.

Answer 4

Check out:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson

Or google 'surname Johnson'.

If possible, talk to your grandparents, aunts or uncles.  They may know much more than your mother.  If it is important to you, let your mother know it - in a nice way :-)

Answer 5

It is impossible to find out where you came from, or, where your father came from, just by your surname. Your father's name may be on your birth certificate, have you got grand parents, or aunts and uncles you could ask, let your mother know in a very nice way that it is really important for you to know about your father.

Answer 6

Greetings from yet another Johnson!! We have the second most popular last name in the United States (and maybe the English-speaking world) , so without a first name at least, all of us here in genealogy are up against the same brick wall as you are. If you know his first name, edit your question and maybe we can find out some info about him.

General info: JOHNSON Name Meaning and History

English and Scottish: patronymic from the personal name John. As an American family name, Johnson has absorbed patronymics and many other derivatives of this name in continental European languages.  It basically means "son of John".

Answer 7

Johnson is a Sept of Clan Donald of Scotland.  It is the English form of the name of MacIan.  This family was found at Glencoe and Ardnamarchen.  I have this surname in my ancestory and through it found my connection to Scotland.  Clan Donald is also known  as the MacDonalds.  This is the largest and oldest of the Scottish Clans.  We were an independent kingdom for over 300 years until being absorbed into the Scottish kingdom in the 1300's.  For more information on Clan Donald and MacDonald of Glencoe go to www.clan-donald-usa.org.