Langley
A habitational surname from places named Langley, meaning “long meadow” or “long clearing.”
The #1,289 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 11,329 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Langley is a habitational surname taken from one of many English places called Langley. The place-name comes from Old English lang meaning “long” and leah meaning “woodland clearing,” “meadow,” or “open ground.” In practice, it usually meant a long clearing or stretch of open land.
History
The name occurs widely across England, so different families may have adopted it independently from different Langleys. Historical records show it especially in the north of England, including the Durham and Tynedale area, where a notable medieval family used the name. It later spread more broadly in Britain and then to North America and other English-speaking regions.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
There are multiple English parishes and places named Langley, which is why the surname can have several independent origins.
From the historical record
“wall. LANGLEY. Parishes and places in cos. Durham, Essex, Kent, Leicester, Norfolk, Oxford, Salop, AVorwick, Wilts, Derby, Buckingham, &c. LANGLOIS. Fr. rAnglois, "the English- man." An importation from Fj-ance, where it is as common a surname as ' French ' is "with ourselves. LANGMAN. See Lang and Longman ; a…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Langley
- Samuel Langley (1834–1906)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.