Lankford
An English place-name surname meaning “the ford by the lank or long hill.”
The #3,028 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 26,090 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Lankford is usually explained as a habitational surname from a place named with the Old English element "hlanc" or "lanc," meaning a sloping or lank ridge, plus "ford," a river crossing. In plain English, it likely referred to a ford near a long, low hill or ridge. As with many English locational surnames, the name later came to identify people who had moved away from the original place.
History
The surname is English in origin and appears in later records in several spellings, reflecting normal variation in early surname writing. It is now found especially in the United States, where it spread through English-speaking migration. The excerpt provided only mentions the name in passing, so the etymology here is based on established surname-pattern knowledge rather than direct dictionary treatment of Lankford.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because it is built from a place element plus "ford," Lankford belongs to a large family of English surnames that point to landscape features rather than occupations or nicknames.
From the historical record
“Lanin, 439. Lankeman, 151. Lankford.f Lanktree, 251. Lanraan, 355. Lannan, 439. Lanney, 439. Lannon, 439.”
— Suffolk Surnames (3rd ed.)