Lankford History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Lankford has a long Anglo-Saxon heritage. The name comes from when a family lived in the regions of Langford which were in eight counties throughout England. Lankford is a habitation name from the broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties.

Early Origins of the Lankford family

The surname Lankford was first found in Bedfordshire at Langford, a village and civil parish alongside the River Ivel. With multiple listings of the same village throughout England (Bedfordshire, Essex, Nottinghamshire and as Langford Budville in Somerset), it is difficult to give a precise local for the surname's origin.

However, of all of them, the village in Bedfordshire has traditionally had the highest population over the years. Some are listed in the Domesday Book as follows: Langeford, Bedfordshire; Langheforda, Essex; and Landeforde, Nottinghamshire. 1

The place name literally means "long ford" from the Old English lang + ford. But the Nottinghamshire village could have been derived from "ford of a man called Landa" from the Old English personal name + ford. 2

There are other villages and parishes named Langford, in England but these are the oldest. The Cornwall local cannot be found today, but it is from this local that many of the family originated. Roger de Langford was sheriff of Cornwall in 1225. He took his surname from the parish of Marham Church. 3

While the town or parish of Langford cannot be found today, historical evidence of the family exists. "In 1620 Emanuel Langford possessed five parts out of six [of the manor of Liskeard Coelsehill." and "Tremabe, in [the parish of Liskeard], which was formerly a seat of the Langfords, is now a farm house. Langford-Hill [in the parish of Marham-Church] was formerly a seat belonging to an ancient family called Langford, of whom the last lineal descendant, Mrs. Flizabeth Hammet, died in 1783." 4

Early History of the Lankford family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lankford research. Another 95 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1229, 1625, 1652, 1656, 1683, 1713, 1716, 1725 and 1791 are included under the topic Early Lankford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lankford Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Lankford have been found, including Langford, Langforde, Langfort, Longford and many more.

Early Notables of the Lankford family

More information is included under the topic Early Lankford Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lankford Ranking

In the United States, the name Lankford is the 2,419^th most popular surname with an estimated 12,435 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Lankford family to Ireland

Some of the Lankford family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 79 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lankford migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Lankford, or a variant listed above:

Lankford Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Lankford, who arrived in Maryland in 1676 6
Thomas Lankford, aged 20, who landed in Maryland in 1684 6

Lankford Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Frank Lankford, aged 22, who settled in America, in 1896

Lankford Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Milton Lankford, aged 40, who landed in America, in 1919
William Lankford, aged 48, who immigrated to America, in 1924
William A. Lankford, aged 51, who landed in America, in 1924
William H. Lankford, aged 48, who immigrated to the United States, in 1924
Jerome J. Lankford, aged 25, who immigrated to the United States, in 1924

Contemporary Notables of the name Lankford (post 1700) +

Tom Lankford (d. 2020), American civil rights reporter who was secretly in league with police
John A. Lankford (1874-1946), American architect, the first professionally licensed African-American architect in Virginia
Frank Lankford (b. 1971), American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher
Paul Lankford (b. 1958), American retired National Football League corner back
Kim Lankford (b. 1955), American actress
William Chester Lankford (1877-1964), American politician, teacher, jurist and lawyer
Richard Estep Lankford (1914-2003), American politician
James Lankford (b. 1968), American politician, U.S. Representative for Oklahoma's 5th congressional district
Raymond Lewis Lankford (b. 1967), American former Major League Baseball center fielder

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)