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Origins and Meaning of surname JOHNSTON
In form at least the surname is Scottish, deriving from the place of the name in Annandale in Dumfriesshire, which was originally ‘Johns town’.
The original John was a Norman landowner in the area in the twelfth century, and instead of taking on the straightforward patronymic ‘Johnson’, his descendants adopted the placename as their surname, becoming Johnston(e)s.
This family, the source of virtually all Scottish bearers of the name, became one on the strongest and most unruly of the Border clans, and their long feud with another clan, the Maxwells, was notorious for its ferocity.
When the clans were eventually ‘pacified’ and scattered by James II, many Johnstons fled to Ulster where, like large numbers from the other clans - Elliots, Armstrongs, Nixons and others - they settled mainly in Co Fermanagh, where the surname is today the second most numerous in the county.
As well as these Johnstons, however, many others whose name was originally Johnson adopted the Scottish name. Such adoptions occurred predominantly in Ulster, and affected those of Scottish and of native Irish origin, with the Maclans of Caithness translating their surname as Johnson, and then altering it to Johnston in many cases, and the MacShanes of the Armagh/Tyrone district, a branch of the O’Neills, doing likewise. During Anglicization many Mc Keowns in Ireland had their name changed to Johnston. Mac Eoin in the Irish language translates to 'son of John'.
Courtesy of: Edward MacLysaght's "Surnames of Ireland"
http://www.himandus.net/hofh/hepburn/johnston/_johnston.html
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- Within the bounds of Annandale
- The gentle Johnstons ride;
- They have been there a thousand years,
- A thousand more they’ll bide.
Sir Walter Scott
Few surnames can boast a more colorful history. Residing in Annandale, a border region that experienced centuries of warfare between Scots and English, the Johnstons[1] became known as one of the most active and feared of the "riding clans", i.e. those clans whose principle activity was cattle and horse rustling, or "reiving". They rode not only against the hated English, but also against rival clans. Each raid brought retaliation, each murder necessitated revenge, and the consequence was often blood feuds. None is more notorious in Scottish lore, both for its longevity and its brutality, than the almost two hundred year feud between the Johnstons and Clan Maxwell. It’s no wonder that the Johnston motto was "Aye Ready", their symbol a winged or flying spur, and their ironic appellation the "Gentle Johnstons". See badge.
In 1603 King James, who had united Scotland and England under one monarch, was determined to pacify the lawless, Presbyterian border country. Ruthless subjugation ensued. In 1606, when James offered land in Ireland in an attempt to also pacify the recalcitrant Irish, many borderers accepted the offer. James was pleased. After all, who better to control the unruly Irish than the brutal, violent borderers. The resulting Ulster Plantation became the home of the Scots-Irish, many Johnstons among them. And from Protestant Ulster, of course, many Scot-Irish made their way to the colonies.
Unfortunately, there’s no evidence that our Johnstons were part of this colorful tradition. There was a sizeable Johnston clan in Caskieben in Aderdeenshire, as well as in Lancashire and Yorkshire on the English side of the border. Many Scotsman took their surname from the town of "St. Johnstoun", now Perth. And to complicate matters even further, many Irishmen, such as the MacShanes or McGowans, took the name Johnson or Johnston after their own surnames were banned.
So where does that leave us? Whatever their origin in the Old World, can't we discover our progenitors fairly easily in the American Colonies? Not necessarily. After 1717, the Scots Irish emigrated here in great numbers, leaving the settled areas with their laws, towns, and Englishmen. Soon the valleys of Pennsylvania and Virginia were brimming with Johnsons and Johnstons and Johnstones, many living relatively cheek by jowl in the same county, although unrelated, and seemingly all of them naming their sons Samuel, William, and James and their daughters Mary, Elizabeth, and Martha.
(1) The surname of Johnston is often simply a variation on Johnstone. Both refer to "John's Town" or John's Tun, i.e. farm, as opposed to the more common Johnson, or "John's son". The problem arises with the wandering, often disappearing, letter T. Thus, many modern Johnsons started out as Johnston or Johnstone, and one can find the same individual referred to by all three in the record.
Source: http://www.nancysdeadrelatives.com/Johnston/surnamehistory.htm