This name derives form the Hebrew Yochanan meaning "Jehovah has favoured me (with a son)". The name, a favourite in the Eastern Church, was brought back to England by the Crusaders. It first appeares in its Latinized form Johannes from the 12th Century onwards. One, Johannes (without surname) is recorded in "Social and Economic Documents of Lincolnshire" C.1140. A Walterus filius (son of) Jone appears in the 1279 Hundred Rolls of Huntingdon. The surname from the Latin form is first recorded in the early twelve hundreds. In 1279 one, Thomas Jonhn appears in the Hundred Rolls of Buckinghamshire. The surname John is widespread in Wales. Edward ap-John was archdeacon of Caermarthen in 1509. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Pertus Johannis. which was dated 1230, in the "Close Rolls of Suffolk". during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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