Langham History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

There have long been several places named Langham in Britain: there is a village so named in Rutland that dates back to before the Domesday Book [1], as does the village of Langham in North Essex, which was a Saxon settlement. There was also a Langham in Norfolk and Suffolk. It is most likely that the surname Langham was originally born by someone who hailed from one of these villages.

Early Origins of the Langham family

The surname Langham was first found in Suffolk where the family name was first referenced in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 as William de Langham. The same rolls lists Henry de Longeham in Lincolnshire; and Dionis de Langham in Norfolk. [2] The Subsidy Rollsof 1327 lists William of Langham in Leicestershire. The name is thought to have meant “homestead of the family” or “followers of a man called Lahha.” [3] Some of the family were found at Elkington in Northamptonshire since the early days. “This parish, through which passes the Grand Union canal, comprises 1868 acres of a moderately productive soil, the property of the Earl Spencer and the Langham family. ” [4]

Early History of the Langham family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Langham research. Another 184 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1510, 1600, 1395, 1538, 1455, 1487, 1671, 1671, 1660, 1310, 1376, 1363, 1366, 1584, 1671, 1654, 1660, 1621, 1699, 1656, 1678, 1625, 1700, 1670, 1747, 1696, 1749, 1698 and 1766 are included under the topic Early Langham History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Langham Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person’s name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Langham family name include Langham, Langam, Langum, Langhan, Langhen, Langholm and many more.

Early Notables of the Langham family (pre 1700)

Distinguished members of the family include Cardinal Simon de Langham (c.1310-1376), Lord Chancellor of England in 1363 and Archbishop of Canterbury in 1366, he fell foul of Edward III later, and lived out the rest of his life in Avignon, France; Sir John Langham, 1st Baronet(1584-1671), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1654 and 1660, a turkey merchant by trade, he acquired a considerable… 
Another 70 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Langham Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Langham Ranking

In the United States, the name Langham is the 5,579^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. [5]

 Langham migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Langham surname or a spelling variation of the name included.