Langston
A habitational surname meaning “from the long stone” or, more generally, “from Langston,” a place-name-based English surname.
The #1,816 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 15,639 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Langston is a habitational surname from one or more English place-names called Langston. The name is usually taken to come from Old English elements meaning “long” and “stone,” referring to a notable stone, boundary stone, or stone feature near the settlement. In some cases it may also be related to place-names built from the Old English personal name Lang and tūn “farmstead, estate,” though the place-name evidence is not always clear in older sources.
History
The surname was established in England by people identified by their home parish or village, and later spread into other counties. 19th-century surname studies associate it with places in several English regions, especially Buckinghamshire, and note it alongside other local surnames formed from place-names beginning with Lang-. It is now found more widely in the English-speaking world, especially in the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname dictionaries often grouped Langston with a cluster of English location-based names like Langley, Langridge, and Langton.
From the historical record
“There is a Will. Longstaf in H.R. LANGSTON. A parish in Hampshire. LANGTOFT. A parish in Lincoln- shire. LANGTOi^. Parishes and places in cos. Durham, Westmoreland, Lincoln, York, Leicester, Dorset, &c. LANGWITH. A parish In Derbysliire, and townships in cos. York and Notting-”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom