Johnston Family History

Scottish: habitational name deriving in most cases from the place so called in Annandale in Dumfriesshire. This is derived from the genitive case of the personal name John + + Middle English ton ‘town, village, settlement’ (Old English tūn).

There are other places in Scotland so called, including the city of Perth, which used to be known as Saint John's Toun, and some of these may also be sources of the surname.

English: habitational name from Johnson Hall (Staffordshire), recorded as Johanneston c. 1233 and Joneston in 131. The placename means ‘John's settlement’ from the genitive case of the Middle English personal name Johan, Jon (see John) + Middle English ton ‘town, village, settlement’.