Langston
From an English place name meaning "long stone" or "tall stone".
Name Census estimates that about 7,048 living Americans carry the first name Langston. It is a predominantly male name (95.4% of registrations). The average person named Langston today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Langston births was 2016 (425 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Langston. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Although Langston is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 338 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Langston is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 16 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
7.0K
~ 1 in 48,631 Americans
Peak year
2016
425 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#909
Tracked since 1912
Census
Langston in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,037 people with the first name Langston, which placed it at #3,891 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#3,891
National first-name rank
People counted
5.0K
5,037 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
56.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Langston
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Langston is Black at 56.1%. The next largest groups are White (25.2%) and Two or More Races (11.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Langston described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Langston at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American56.1% · 2,826
- White25.2% · 1,271
- Two or more races11.8% · 595
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 241
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 66
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 38
Gender
Gender distribution for Langston
Langston leans heavily male at 95.4% of total registrations, but 338 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Langston as a male name
- Ranked #909 in 2024
- 256 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2016 (405 births)
Langston as a female name
- Ranked #14,420 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2013 (34 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Langston leans strongly male. 4,737 people counted with this name were male (94.0%), compared with 302 female bearers (6.0%).
Popularity
Langston: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Langston from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 3,161 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Langston remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Langston by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Langston during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Langstons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 35 states and territories. Texas, Georgia, California recorded the most babies named Langston, while Nevada, Nebraska, Oregon recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 133 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Langston
The name Langston is an English surname that originated as a locational name derived from the place name Langstone, which is found in various parts of England. The name Langstone itself is thought to be derived from the Old English words "lang" meaning long and "stan" meaning stone, likely referring to a long stone or rock formation in the area.
In terms of its use as a given name, Langston first gained prominence in the early 20th century, particularly among African Americans. One of the most notable individuals to bear this name was Langston Hughes, the renowned African American poet, social activist, and a leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes, born in 1902 and died in 1967, is widely celebrated for his works that captured the essence of African American life and culture during a time of significant social and artistic upheaval.
Another notable figure named Langston was Langston Galloway, an American professional basketball player born in 1991. Galloway played for several teams in the NBA, including the New York Knicks, Sacramento Kings, and Detroit Pistons, and is known for his impressive three-point shooting abilities.
In the world of music, Langston Auld, born in 1949, was a Canadian jazz saxophonist and composer who gained recognition for his contributions to the West Coast jazz scene in the late 20th century.
Langston Parker, born in 1999, is a Canadian actor and filmmaker who rose to prominence for his roles in various television series and films, including the Netflix series "Locke & Key."
Langston Whitfield, born in 1975, is an American journalist and author who has worked for several major news organizations, including The Washington Post and The New York Times. He is known for his insightful reporting on race, politics, and social issues.
While the name Langston has gained popularity among various cultural and ethnic groups in recent times, its roots can be traced back to its English origins as a locational surname. The prominence of individuals like Langston Hughes has undoubtedly contributed to its widespread recognition and use as a given name, particularly within the African American community.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Langston
People
Langston + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Langston as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Langston: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Langston?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7,048 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Langston going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 48,631 US residents.
Is Langston a common name?
We classify Langston as "Rare". It ranks above 97.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7,427 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Langston most popular?
The single biggest year for Langston was 2016, when 425 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Langston is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Langston in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,037 people with the name Langston, or 1.67 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,891 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Langston in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Langston?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Langston leans strongly male. 4,737 people counted with this name were male (94.0%), compared with 302 female bearers (6.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Langston?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Langston is Black at 56.1%. The next largest groups are White (25.2%) and Two or More Races (11.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Langston most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Langston in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.1% (2,826 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Langston in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Langston a male name?
Yes, 95.4% of people registered as Langston in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Langston still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Langston in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Langston can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Langston as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.