Происхождение и история

Patronymic surname meaning 'son of Johan', the Swedish form of John — derived from the Latin 'Johannes', itself from the Hebrew 'Yohanan', meaning 'God is gracious'. Johan was consistently one of the most common male given names in Sweden across several centuries, which accounts for Johansson's position as the second most frequent surname in the country. The double '-ss-' reflects the Swedish genitive-like compounding of '-s' (son's) and 'son', a peculiarity of Scandinavian patronymic orthography distinct from the Norwegian '-sen' tradition.