Contents [hide]

Lange History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

United States Canada New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Lange History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Netherlands
England
France
Germany-Alt
Germany
Scotland

The family name emerged in the old duchy of Saxony, which existed from the 9th to the 12th centuries. A common form of surname found in Lower Saxony are those that are derived from nicknames. Nickname surnames were derived from an eke-name, or added name. They usually reflected the physical characteristics or attributes of the first person that used the name. The name Lange is derived from the Old German word "lang," which means "long," and it was a nickname for a very tall person.

Early Origins of the Lange family

The surname Lange was first found in Lueneburg, in the Dukedom of Brunswick, where this family contributed to the local society. The family became an integral part of that turbulent region as they emerged to form alliances with other families within the feudal system.

Early History of the Lange family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lange research. Another 178 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1184, 1291, 1350, 1519, 1567, 1711, 1733, 1764, 1824, 1828, 1835, 1848, 1875 and 1930 are included under the topic Early Lange History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lange Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Lange, Langer, Lang, Langen and others.

Early Notables of the Lange family

Notables of the time included

Samuel Gotthold Lange (1711-81), who was a poet and translator...
Anton Langer (1824-79) wrote Viennese farces and humorous novels...
Friedrich Albert Lange (1828-1875) was a philosopher and sociologist and fighter for democracy...
Helene Lange (1848-1930) was a prominent educationist and feminist...

Lange World Ranking

In the United States, the name Lange is the 1,408^th most popular surname with an estimated 22,383 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Lange is ranked the 1,584^th most popular surname with an estimated 3,766 people with that name. 2 And in Netherlands, the name Lange is the 767^th popular surname with an estimated 2,493 people with that name. 3

Lange migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Lange Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Conrad Lange, who settled in Philadelphia in 1738
Hans Michael Lange, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1738 4
Jacob Lange, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1750 4
John G Lange, who landed in New York, NY in 1750 4
Georg Lange, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1753 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Lange Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

A L Lange, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1800 4
Joh Henr Lange, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1800 4
Gertd Hinr Lange, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1800 4
John Philip Lange, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1803 4
Johann Godfried Lange, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1806 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Lange migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Lange Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Conrad Christian Lange, who settled in Canada in 1738

Lange Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

C W Lange, who arrived in Quebec in 1854

Lange migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Lange Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Johann Lange, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "John Masterman" in 1857
Fritz Lange, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "John Masterman" in 1857

Lange migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 5

Lange Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Johann Lange, who settled in St. Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635
Jo Lange, aged 22, who arrived in St Christopher in 1635 4
Mr. John Lange, (b. 1613), aged 22, British settler traveling aboard the ship "Matthew" arriving in St Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Lange (post 1700) +

Brigadier-General Otto Frederick Lange (1891-1965), American Assistant G-3, Army Ground Forces (1943-1944) 7
Michael Lange (b. 1950), American television director and record producer
Johnny Lange (1905-2006), American songwriter, author and publisher
Hope Elise Ross Lange (1933-2003), award-winning American stage, film, and television actress
Andrew E. Lange (1957-2010), American astrophysicist, shared the Balzan Prize in observational astronomy and astrophysics in 2006
Jessica Phyllis Lange (b. 1949), American stage and screen actress with 2 Academy Awards won and 6 nominations
Dorothea Lange (1895-1965), American photographer
Corinth Lange, American politician, Prohibition Candidate for Presidential Elector for Michigan, 1980 8
Albert W. Lange, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Illinois, 1904 8
Albert Lange (1801-1869), American Republican politician, U.S. Consul in Amsterdam, 1849-50; Indiana State Auditor, 1861-63; Mayor of Terre Haute, Indiana, 1863-67 8
... (Another 44 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Lange family +

Bismarck

Walter Lange (1918-1941), German Maschinengefreiter who served aboard the German Battleship Bismarck during World War II when it was sunk heading to France; he died in the sinking 9
Karl-Heinz Lange (1921-1941), German Matrosengefreiter who served aboard the German Battleship Bismarck during World War II when it was sunk heading to France; he died in the sinking 9

USS Arizona

Mr. Richard Charles Lange, American Seaman First Class from California, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 10

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
"Most Common Last Names in Netherlands." Forebears, https://forebears.io/netherlands/surnames
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)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's (Retrieved October 4th 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2012, April 2) Otto Lange. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Lange/Otto_Frederick/USA.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Bismarck & Tirpitz Class - Crew List Bismarck. (Retrieved 2018, February 06). Retrieved from https://www.bismarck-class.dk/bismarck/crew/bismarck_crew.html#crew_details
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html