Langston
2025 SSA
2025 SSA
About Langston
The great African-American Harlem Renaissance writer Langston Hughes put this one on the map, while actor Laurence Fishburne adopted it for his now grown son, born in 1987. Despite these popular associations, the name didn't make it into the US Top 1000 until 2013, and while it has remained in the charts, it has stayed towards the latter end.
Langston for boys#1000 US
Hughes was born James Mercer Langston Hughes, Langston being his mother's maiden name. The name itself derived from an Old English place name, that could be interpreted to mean "tall man's town", though "long stone" is an equally likely meaning.
Some similar choices are Lanford, Landon, Langford and Langley, while Kingston and Landon are more familiar options.
Langston for girls#12609 US
While Langston is predominantly used for boys, its surname-style and its connection to poet Langston Hughes gives it potential to be a unisex option. Six girls were given the name in a recent year (compared to 260 boys), though back in 2011, 31 girls were called Langston.
Pronounced LANG-stun.
As of October 2026, Langston ranked #1000 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #652 in 2016.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank · boys | Births · boys | US rank · girls | Births · girls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #748 | 317 | — | 0 |
| 2015 | #689 | 365 | — | 0 |
| 2016 | #652 | 405 | — | 0 |
| 2017 | #677 | 375 | — | 0 |
| 2018 | #682 | 359 | — | 0 |
| 2019 | #678 | 379 | — | 0 |
| 2020 | #693 | 367 | — | 0 |
| 2021 | #742 | 343 | — | 0 |
| 2022 | #793 | 318 | — | 0 |
| 2023 | #892 | 261 | — | 0 |
| 2024 | #909 | 256 | — | 0 |
| 2025 | #1,000 | 227 | — | 0 |
World rankings
Langston for boys
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Langston.
Langston on lists
Famous Langstons
- (James Mercer) Langston HughesBoy
American poet
- Langston GallowayBoy
American basketball player
- Langston Branden WalkerBoy
American football player
- Langston MooreBoy
American football player
- Langston FishburneBoy
son of actor Laurence Fishburne
Langston in pop culture
- Langston GrahamBoy
character on TV's "Chuck"
- Chester LangstonBoy
character on TV's "American Gothic"
- Langston WildeBoy
female character on American soap "One Life to Live"