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There are many Irish surnames being used today in forms that are quite different than their original, ancient forms. Lanken originally appeared in Gaelic as Ó Longain, which is derived from the word long, which means tall. 1
The surname Lanken was first found in Down (Irish:An Dún) part of the Province of Ulster, in Northern Ireland, formerly known as county St Mirren, where they held a family seat from ancient times.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lanken research. Another 94 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1689 and 1758 are included under the topic Early Lanken History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Irish names were rarely spelled consistently in the Middle Ages. Spelling variations of the name Lanken dating from that time include Langan, Longan, Langen, Longen, O'Lonagain, Langhan, Langin, O'Langane, O'Longane, O'Langan and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early Lanken Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The 19th century saw a great wave of Irish families leaving Ireland for the distant shores of North America and Australia. These families often left their homeland hungry, penniless, and destitute due to the policies of England. Those Irish immigrants that survived the long sea passage initially settled on the eastern seaboard of the continent. Some, however, moved north to a then infant Canada as United Empire Loyalists after ironically serving with the English in the American War of Independence. Others that remained in America later joined the westward migration in search of land. The greatest influx of Irish immigrants, though, came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Thousands left Ireland at this time for North America, and those who arrived were immediately put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. In fact, the foundations of today's powerful nations of the United States and Canada were to a larger degree built by the Irish. Archival documents indicate that members of the Lanken family relocated to North American shores quite early: Laurence Langan, an 'enforced emigrant' from Ireland, who arrived in America in 1743; John Longan, who sailed to Philadelphia in 1775; William Langen, who sailed to Pennsylvania in 1777.