Explore the Family Name Janson
The meaning of Janson
1. Americanized form (and a rare Swedish variant) of Swedish Jansson, a cognate of 4 and 5 below. 2. Americanized form of Dutch, Flemish, North German, Norwegian, and Danish Jansen and Janssen, cognates of 4 and 5 below. 3. French: from the personal name Janson, a variant of Jeanson. 4. Dutch: from Janszoon, a patronymic from the personal name Jan ‘John’. This is a less common, but still quite frequent variant of Jansen. 5. English: patronymic from the Middle English personal name Jan, a common form of John, + son; compare Johnson and Jenson, with which this name was interchangeble. History: Pierre Janson dit Lapalme from Paris, France, married Ursule Rancin in Quebec City, QC, in 1689. His descendants also bear the former secondary surname or dit (‘also called’) name Lapalme. Some characteristic forenames: Scandinavian Nils, Lars, Anders, Helmer, Jan-Erik, Johan, Sven. German Kurt, Otto, Reinhard, Ernst, Gerhard, Gotthard, Hans, Juergen, Siegfried, Udo.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Janson in the United States?
According to data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Janson has seen minor changes between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked as the 7937th most popular name, but by 2010, it had slipped down slightly to the 8408th position, indicating a decrease in its overall popularity by 5.93%. Despite this drop in rank, there was a slight increase in the number of individuals with the surname Janson, growing from 3865 people in 2000 to 3930 in 2010, an increase of 1.68%. However, the proportion of people named Janson per 100k individuals decreased by 6.99% during this decade.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #7,937 | #8,408 | -5.93% |
| Count | 3,865 | 3,930 | 1.68% |
| Proportion per 100k | 1.43 | 1.33 | -6.99% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Janson
The ethnic identity associated with the surname Janson also shifted substantially during the same period, as revealed by the Decennial U.S. Census data. The largest ethnicity associated with the surname was White, though the percentage dropped from 93.92% in 2000 to 90.28% in 2010. There were increases in all other reported ethnicities. The Asian/Pacific Islander group experienced the highest growth rate at 187.04%, increasing from 0.54% in 2000 to 1.55% in 2010. The Black community holding the Janson surname also grew significantly by 64.71%. Those identifying as Two or more races increased from 1.03% to 1.73%, and even American Indian and Alaskan Native saw an increase from 0.70% to 0.89%. The Hispanic representation rose to 3.03% in 2010 from 2.28% in 2000.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 93.92% | 90.28% | -3.88% |
| Hispanic | 2.28% | 3.03% | 32.89% |
| Black | 1.53% | 2.52% | 64.71% |
| Two or More Races | 1.03% | 1.73% | 67.96% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.54% | 1.55% | 187.04% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.7% | 0.89% | 27.14% |
Janson ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Janson is British & Irish, which comprises 34.7% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (29.2%) and Scandinavian (10.9%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Ashkenazi Jewish, Finnish, Italian, and Spanish & Portuguese.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 34.7% |
| French & German | 29.2% |
| Scandinavian | 10.9% |
| Other | 25.2% |
Possible origins of the surname Janson
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Janson have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 70.50% |
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 70.50% |
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 70.50% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 70.50% |
| West Midlands, United Kingdom | 69.50% |
What Janson haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Janson is O-F2415, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-F2415 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include E-M183 and O-F2859, which are predominantly found among people with European and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Janson surname are: H1, J1c, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins O-M1359
Your paternal lineage may be linked to the Cham
One of the many populations harboring members of haplogroup O1b1a1a1a1 is the Cham ethnic group, a group of people who speak Austronesian languages in Mainland Southeast Asia. Austronesian languages make up a language family that is extremely large and widespread, comprising over 350 million people on islands such as Madagascar, Easter Island, and many others. However, Austronesian languages are less common on mainland Asia, with a notable exception being the Chamic language. Research suggests that ancestors of the Cham people migrated from Southeast Asian islands to the mainland around the year 500 BCE, and that early Cham populations quickly began mixing with indigenous southern Vietnamese populations. As a result, the Chamic language now has words that were borrowed from languages spoken by indigenous Vietnamese people. It is likely that an ancestral Kinh population was one of the populations that mixed with the Cham people shortly after their migration to mainland Asia.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Janson have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Janson" Surname 35.0%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Janson" Surname 22.9%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Janson" Surname 16.3%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Janson" Surname 14.8%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Janson?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Janson are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition