Show ContentsLange History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Of all the French names to come from Normandy, Lange is one of the most ancient. The name is a result of the original family having lived in the former province of Anjou, which comprised parts of southern Armorica, Indre-et-Loire, and Sarthe. The ancient capital of Anjou was Angers and, from the 10th century, this region was a countship belonging to the Plantagenet dynasty. Anjou was attached to the English Crown in 1156, after Henry II, the son of the Count of Anjou, became King of England. However, the territory was recovered by Philippe II in 1206 and, in 1487, the province was secured as Crown land by the French Crown.

Early Origins of the Lange family

The surname Lange was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where the family held a family seat from ancient times.

Some of the family emigrated to England as in the Domesday Book of 1086, "several of the name are found. The principal land-owner among them, who is supposed to have been of Breton origin, held considerable estates in Devonshire under Baldwin de Meules." 1

"John de Aunger served as knight of the shire for Leicester in three of Edward I.'s parliaments, and in the first held by Edward II. Josceline D'Aunger in 1169 witnessed the foundation charter of Lanercost Abbey, and Ralph de Angers in the thirteenth century held lands in Wilts. Ralph de Aungers was Sheriff of Notts, 49 and 50 Henry III. " 1

Early History of the Lange family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lange research. Another 264 words (19 lines of text) covering the years 1060, 1083, 1568, 1629, 1634, 1638 and 1720 are included under the topic Early Lange History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lange Spelling Variations

French surnames were subject to numerous alterations in spelling because of the various cultural groups that inhabited specific regions. Eventually, each region possessed its own local dialect of the French language. The early development of the French language, however, was also influenced by other languages. For example, Old French was infused with Germanic words and sounds when barbarian tribes invaded and settled in France after the fall of the Roman Empire. Middle French also borrowed heavily from the Italian language during the Renaissance. As a result of these linguistic and cultural influences, the name Lange is distinguished by a number of regional variations. The many spelling variations of the name include Anger, Angers, Angier, Ange, Dange, d'Angeros, Dangeros, d'Anger, d'Ange, d'Angier, d'Angers, Anget, Angay, Angey, Angé, d'Anget, d'Angay, d'Angey, d'Angé, Angger, Anggers, Anggier, d'Angger, d'Anggers, d'Anggier, Ager, Agey, d'Agey, Ageais, d'Ageais, Aggeais, Lange, Angerot, Dangerot, d'Angerot and many more.

Early Notables of the Lange family

Another 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Lange Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lange World Ranking

In the United States, the name Lange is the 1,408th most popular surname with an estimated 22,383 people with that name. 2 However, in France, the name Lange is ranked the 1,584th most popular surname with an estimated 3,766 people with that name. 3 And in Netherlands, the name Lange is the 767th popular surname with an estimated 2,493 people with that name. 4


United States Lange migration to the United States +

In 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 people in Quebec, in 1663 there were only 500, 2,000 migrants arrived during the next decade. Early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. Youths of 18 took fourteen-year-old girls for their wives. The fur trade was developed and attracted migrants, both noble and commoner from France. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries. Migration from France to New France or Quebec as it was now more popularly called, continued from France until it fell in 1759. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported to Louisiana. Meanwhile, in Quebec, the French race flourished, founding in Lower Canada, one of the two great solitudes which became Canada. Many distinguished contributions have been made by members of this family name Lange. It has been prominent in the arts, religion, politics and culture in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Lange 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 5
  • Jacob Lange, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1750 5
  • John G Lange, who landed in New York, NY in 1750 5
  • Georg Lange, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1753 5
  • ... (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 5
  • Joh Henr Lange, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1800 5
  • Gertd Hinr Lange, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1800 5
  • John Philip Lange, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1803 5
  • Johann Godfried Lange, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1806 5
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Canada 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

New Zealand 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

West Indies 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. 6
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 5
  • Mr. John Lange, (b. 1613), aged 22, British settler traveling aboard the ship "Matthew" arriving in St Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Lange (post 1700) +

  • Brigadier-General Otto Frederick Lange (1891-1965), American Assistant G-3, Army Ground Forces (1943-1944) 8
  • 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 9
  • Albert W. Lange, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Illinois, 1904 9
  • 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 9
  • ... (Another 44 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

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 10
  • 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 10
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 11


The Lange Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Fides
Motto Translation: Faith.


Suggested Readings for the name Lange +

  • A Family History: Immigrant Ancestors from Ireland and Germany by George L. Williams.

  1. Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 1 of 3
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  3. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  4. "Most Common Last Names in Netherlands." Forebears, https://forebears.io/netherlands/surnames
  5. 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)
  6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  7. Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's (Retrieved October 4th 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
  8. Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2012, April 2) Otto Lange. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Lange/Otto_Frederick/USA.html
  9. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  10. Bismarck & Tirpitz Class - Crew List Bismarck. (Retrieved 2018, February 06). Retrieved from https://www.bismarck-class.dk/bismarck/crew/bismarck_crew.html#crew_details
  11. Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html


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