(female), (male) Originally male, but now an increasingly popular given name for girls, this is a transferred use of the surname, which comes from any of numerous places in England named with Old English æsc ‘ash’ + lēah ‘wood’. It is recorded as a given name in the 16th century, but its wider use was probably inspired by Anthony Ashley Cooper (1801–85), 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, a noted humanitarian who inspired much of the legislation designed to improve conditions among the working classes. It became one of the three most popular girls' names in North America in the latter half of the 20th century, with a wide variety of spellings.
Variants: Ashlea, Ashleigh, Ashlee, Ashlie, Ashly all (female).
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.)
FOREBEARS Johnson is the second most frequent surname in the U.S. It was brought independently to North America by many different bearers from the 17th and 18th centuries onward. Andrew Johnson (1808– 75), 17th president of the U.S., was born in Raleigh, NC, the younger son of Jacob Johnson and Mary (or Polly) McDonough.Little is known of his ancestors. The 36th president, Lyndon B. Johnson, dates his American forebears back seven generations to James Johnston (sic) (b. about 1662) who lived at Currowaugh, Nansemond, and Isle of Wight Counties, VA. Noted early bearers also include Marmaduke (d. 1674), a printer who came from England to MA in 1660; Edward (1598–1672), a colonial chronicler who was baptized at St.George's parish, Canterbury, England, and emigrated to Boston in 1630; and Sir Nathaniel (c. 1645–1713), a colonial governor of Carolina, who came from County Durham, England.
