Landon

This English medieval surname, recorded in the spellings of Langdon, Landon, and Laundon, originates from the various places in England called Langdon. These include the Langdons in Devon, Dorset, Essex, Warwickshire, Kent, and other places. The placename derives from the Olde English pre 7th Century "lang" meaning "long", and "dun", a hill. With the change from Olde English to Anglo-Saxon in the 10th century, some places were recorded in the "new" spelling. These include Longdon, a place name found in the counties of Shropshire, Staffordshire and Worcestershire, the latter being recorded as Langadune in the year 1002, at the very begining of surviving records. Early examples of the name recording include Reginald de Langedon, who appears in the 1221 Assize Court Rolls of Shropshire and Staffordshire, and Geoffrey de Langedon of Somerset in 1273. Later recordings of the surname include that of Anne Landon, who married William Wrayford on May 20 1697 at Lincolns Inn, London, and James Laundon, who married annis Spares, at the church of St Katherines by the Tower (of London), on January 22nd 1687. The first recorded spelling of the family name is believed to be that of Aelfward aet Langadune, which was dated 1050, in the Olde English Name Roll for the county of Worcestershire. This was during the reign of King Edward, known as "The Confessor", 1042 - 1066.