Lansing
A Dutch and English place-name surname meaning someone from low, meadowy land.
The #8,706 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 81,895 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Lansing is generally understood as a habitational surname from a place-name or local topographic term referring to low, flat, meadow-like ground, especially land by water. The older dictionary material connects it with Dutch lowlands and with the English element -ing, used in some place-names for meadow or river-flat land. In practice, the name most likely began as a label for someone who lived near such terrain or came from a place so named.
History
The surname is best known in English-speaking countries, especially the United States. It was likely reinforced by place-names such as Lansing, and by the broader use of -ing/-ings in English and Dutch local names. Because the surname can arise from several similar place-name forms, its exact origin may vary by family line.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same spelling is famous in U.S. geography, including Lansing, the capital of Michigan.
From the historical record
“a sword. Feur, grass ; /ear, a man. LANSING. Local (Dutch.) Low, flat lands ;"%," mead- ows ; alluvial lands. LANYON. (Cor. Br.) The furzy inclosure. LAORAN. (Gaelic.) A person too fond of the fireside. LARA WAY and LARWAY. (Fr.) A corruption of " Le roi" the king. LARDNER. A swine-herd. LARKINS. From lark, a…”
— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names