2000
#1,208
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 26,560
First available Census row
Per 100,000 9.85
Uncommon Last name
Langley
From the Old English lang and leah, referring to a person who lived by a long woodland clearing or meadow.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 29,969 Americans carry the last name Langley. That puts it at #1,320 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 8.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 11,437 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Langley surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Langley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
30K
1 in 11,437
Census rank
#1,320
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
8.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
26K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 26,134 bearers of the surname Langley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 8.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1320th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Langley, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.3%. The next largest groups are Black (10.8%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Langley
The surname Langley has its origins in England and dates back to the medieval period. It is a locational surname, derived from the place name Langley, which means "long clearing" or "long meadow" in Old English. The name is composed of the elements "lang" (long) and "leah" (woodland clearing or meadow).
This surname is found in various regions of England, particularly in the counties of Buckinghamshire, Derbyshire, Essex, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Norfolk, and Warwickshire, where there are several places called Langley. The earliest recorded instance of the name Langley can be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "Langelei" in Leicestershire.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the surname Langley was Sir Robert de Langley, who lived in the late 13th century and was Lord of the Manor of Langley in Buckinghamshire. Another notable figure was Thomas Langley (c. 1363-1437), who served as Bishop of Durham and Lord Chancellor of England during the reigns of Henry IV and Henry V.
In the 16th century, John Langley (c. 1510-1578) was an English churchman and theologian who served as the Bishop of Norwich. During the same period, Hubert Langley (c. 1525-1579) was a Catholic martyr who was executed for his religious beliefs during the reign of Elizabeth I.
In the 17th century, Batty Langley (1696-1751) was an English garden designer, architect, and author, known for his influential works on landscape gardening and architecture. Towards the end of the 18th century, Samuel Pierpont Langley (1834-1906) was an American astronomer, aviation pioneer, and the third Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
During the 19th century, Edward Bayntun Langley (1851-1933) was a British Army officer who served in the Anglo-Zulu War and the Second Boer War, earning the Victoria Cross for his bravery. Another notable bearer of the surname was Neville Langley Whipple (1837-1909), an English-born Australian politician and businessman who served as a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Langley
Among Census respondents with the surname Langley, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.3%. The next largest groups are Black (10.8%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Langley bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Langley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.3% · 20,734
- Black or African American10.8% · 2,825
- Two or more races4.7% · 1,225
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 902
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 289
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 159
Timeline
Historical Census data for Langley
Langley appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#1,289
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 27,252
+692 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 9.24
Rank movement Down 81 places
2020
#1,320
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 26,134
-1,118 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 8.74
Rank movement Down 31 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,208 | 26,560 | 9.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,289 | 27,252 | 9.24 | +692 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 81 places |
| 2020 | #1,320 | 26,134 | 8.74 | -1,118 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 31 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Langley surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,289 | #1,320 | -2.4% |
| Count | 27,252 | 26,134 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 9.24 | 8.74 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Langley bearers went from 27,252 to 26,134 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 31 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,289 to #1,320.
FAQ
Langley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Langley?
Name Census estimates that about 29,969 living Americans carry the surname Langley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 11,437 residents.
How common is Langley?
Langley ranks #1,320 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 8.74 per 100,000 residents, which is about 9 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 26,134 people with the surname Langley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (29,969), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 8.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 8.74 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 9 of them to have the surname Langley.
Has Langley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Langley went from 27,252 recorded bearers to 26,134. That is a decrease of 1,118 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,289 to #1,320.
What does the Census say about the background of Langley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Langley, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.3%. The next largest groups are Black (10.8%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Langley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.3% (20,734 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Langley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.3%), Black (10.8%), Two or More Races (4.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Langley (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Langley mean?
From the Old English lang and leah, referring to a person who lived by a long woodland clearing or meadow. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Langley (8.74 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Langley?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.