Johnstone is a surname. It is a variant of the similar surname Johnston which in most cases is a toponymic surname derived from several places in Scotland.
List of persons with the surname
17th century
- James Johnstone, 1st Earl of Hartfell (1602–1653)
- James Johnstone, 2nd Marquess of Annandale (c.1687–1730)
- Sir James Johnstone, 3rd Baronet (1697–1772), Scottish baronet and politician
- John Johnstone (mayor) (1661–1732), 32nd Mayor of New York City
- William Johnstone, 1st Marquess of Annandale (1664–1721), Scottish nobleman
- Sir William Johnstone, 2nd Baronet (1600s–1727), Scottish baronet and politician
18th century
- Charles Johnstone (c. 1719–1800), Irish novelist
- Chevalier de Johnstone (1719 – c. 1791), army officer
- Edward Huggins Johnstone (1791–1850), Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky
- George Vanden-Bempde, 3rd Marquess of Annandale (1720–1792)
- George Johnstone (Royal Navy officer) (1730–1787), British naval officer and Member of Parliament
- George Johnstone (1764–1813) (1764–1813), British politician
- Sir James Johnstone, 4th Baronet (1726–1794)
- James Johnstone (explorer) (c. 1759–1823) British naval officer, acting lieutenant during George Vancouver's 1791–95 expedition
- John Johnstone (East India Company) (1734–1795), Scottish nabob
- Thomas Johnstone (1772–1839), sailor, smuggler and saboteur
- Sir William Pulteney, 5th Baronet, born William Johnstone (1729–1805), Scottish advocate, landowner and politician
19th century
- Alan Johnstone (1858–1932), British diplomat
- Archie Johnstone (1896–1963), Scottish journalist who defected to the Soviet Union; husband of Nancy Johnstone
- Banner Johnstone (1882–1964), British rower
- Barbara Elizabeth Johnstone (1849–1928), English burlesque performer and opera bouffe soprano
- Edward Grahame Johnstone (1899–1946), British World War I flying ace
- Harcourt Johnstone (1895–1945), British Liberal Party politician
- Henry James Johnstone (1835–1907), British portrait photographer and landscape painter in Australia
- James Johnstone (1801–1888) (1801–1888), Scottish Liberal Party politician
- John Johnstone (footballer, born 1869) (1869–1953), Scottish footballer
- Joseph Johnstone (1860–1931), Scottish Liberal politician
- Justine Johnstone (1895–1982), American actress and pathologist
- Lamar Johnstone (1882–1919), American actor and director
- Ralph Johnstone (1886–1910), American aviator who died in an air crash
- Susan Johnstone (1792–1850), British actress
- William Johnstone (VC) (1823–1857), British soldier, recipient of the Victoria Cross
20th century
- Alex or Alexander Johnstone, multiple persons
- Alison Johnstone (born 1965), Scottish politician
- Arthur H. Johnstone, South African scouting official
- Anne Grahame Johnstone (1928–1998), English illustrator
- Anthony "Tony" Johnstone (born 1956), Zimbabwean professional golfer
- Archibald Johnstone (1924–2014), Canadian businessman and retired Senator
- Billy Johnstone, Australian rugby player
- Bobby Johnstone (1929–2001), Scottish footballer
- Brad Johnstone (born 1950), New Zealand rugby union footballer and coach
- Bruce Johnstone (disambiguation), multiple persons
- Campbell Johnstone (born 1980), All Black, New Zealand Rugby Player
- Chris Johnstone (born 1960)
- Colin Johnstone, (1921–1991) New Zealand rower
- Davey Johnstone (born 1951), rock guitarist and vocalist
- Derek Johnstone (born 1953), Scottish footballer
- Diana Johnstone (born 1934), American political writer
- Dougie Johnstone (born 1969), Scottish footballer
- Ed Johnstone (born 1954), Canadian ice hockey player
- Edward Huggins Johnstone (1922–2013), American federal judge
- Eve Johnstone, (born 1944) Scottish Head of the Division of Psychiatry at the University of Edinburgh
- Frederick Johnston (disambiguation), multiple persons
- Gavin Wildridge Johnstone (1941–1987), Australian ornithologist
- Graeme Johnstone, Australian state coroner for Victoria
- Gwyneth Johnstone (1915–2010), English landscape painter
- Harry Johnstone, English footballer
- Hugh Johnstone (1931–2014), British Army officer
- James Johnstone (disambiguation), multiple persons
- Janet Johnstone (1928–1979), illustrator
- Jay Johnstone (1946–2020), American baseball player
- John Johnstone (baseball) (born 1968), former Major League Baseball player
- Jude Johnstone, American singer-songwriter
- Keith Johnstone (1933–2023), American drama instructor
- Lance Johnstone (born 1973), American football player
- Lew Johnstone (1916–1983), Australian politician
- Mandy Johnstone (born 1972), Australian politician
- Marty Johnstone (1951–1979), New Zealand drug trafficker
- Nancy Bell-Johnstone (born 1959), American biathlete
- Nancy Johnstone (writer) (1906–1951), English writer and humanitarian, wife of Archie Johnstone
- Nathan Johnstone (born 1990), Australian snowboarder
- Parker Johnstone (born 1961), American race car driver
- Paul Neil Milne Johnstone (1952–2004), British poet
- Peter Johnstone (disambiguation), multiple persons
- Phil Johnstone, songwriter, keyboardist, guitarist, and record producer
- Sam Johnstone (born 1993), English footballer
- Sandy Johnstone (1916–2000), British Air Marshal
- Travis Johnstone (born 1980), Australian rules footballer
- Tyler Johnstone (born 1992), American football player
- William Johnstone (disambiguation), multiple persons
Scottish clan
- Clan Johnstone, a Scottish clan, whose chief has the noble title Earl of Annandale and Hartfell
People with a variant form of the surname
- William Johnstone Milne (1892–1917), Canadian World War I soldier
- William Johnstone Ritchie (1813–92), Chief Justice of the Canadian Supreme Court
- George Johnstone Stoney (1826–1911), Irish physicist; introduced the term "electron"
Fictional people with the surname
- Paul Johnstone, alter-ego of the anti-hero Shadowhawk
See also
- Johnston (surname)
