Langham
A habitational surname taken from places called Langham in England.
The #8,888 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 83,807 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Langham is a place-name surname from one of several English places called Langham. The first element is Old English lang, meaning “long,” and the second is commonly taken as hām, meaning “homestead,” or sometimes hām/ham in the broader sense of a settlement. So the name likely meant “long homestead” or “long settlement.”
History
Medieval records show people using de Langham as a locative byname, including examples from the 13th century. The surname spread from different English Langhams, especially in counties such as Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Rutland, and elsewhere. Lower notes a Rutland family line, but the surname could arise independently from more than one place of the same name.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Several English parishes bear the name Langham, which is why the surname can have more than one local point of origin.
From the historical record
“Bo«on IU.S.), o, I ; New York, o, 3. IiMlham ; v. Langham. Ziankashesr.— Ijjcal, 'of Lan- cashire,' a variant ; v. Lancashire. 1808, MarrHcil— [<>hn Lankihrar and”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances