Langer
Usually a German surname meaning “the tall one” or “the long one,” and sometimes a name taken from a place called Lang or similar.
The #4,724 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 41,133 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Most likely from German lang, meaning “long” or “tall,” with the suffix -er commonly used to form surnames from descriptive words or place names. In this reading, Langer would originally have meant “the tall man” or “the long one.” Some historical scholarship also allows for a locational sense, referring to someone from a place named Lang or another name built on the same root.
History
The surname is well established in German-speaking areas and later spread widely through Central Europe and immigration to the Americas. It is common enough in German and Ashkenazi Jewish naming traditions that the same spelling can sometimes reflect different family histories. In older reference works, similar -er surnames are often explained as either nicknames or habitational names, so the exact origin can vary by family line.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same root lang also appears in many German place names and in surnames built from them, so Langer can be a nickname in one family and a place-name surname in another.
From the historical record
“Ballenger, Ballinger. FI. Bel- langer; a p.n. Prot. ref. n., Lond. 1688 Balloch. Irish ballagh (the freckled)”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)