An English surname, Langley comes from the Old English terms ‘lang’ and ‘leah’ which meant a long field or meadow. The spelling variations for Langley include Langly, Langleight, Langlea and Langlee. All across England and parts of Wales the Langley family name is found. Those counties with the greater Langley population are Yorkshire, Durham, Staffordshire, Lancashire, Cheshire, Norfolk, Kent, Warwickshire and the city of London. In Scotland the Langley family name is scattered all across the country. Those counties with the higher Langley populations include Inverness-shire, Berwickshire, Stirlingshire, Fife, Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire. Within the United States the original Langley families settled in New Hampshire, Maine, New York, Maryland, Georgia, Virginia, Ohio, Rhode Island, North Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri, and Kentucky. Famous: Dorothy Langley (the alias for novelist Dorothy Selma Richardson Kissing), Harold D. Langley (historian of naval history), John Langley (movie film and television director and producer), Mark W. Langley (champion race horse jockey), Victoria Langley (television journalist), Samuel Pierpont Langley (pioneer in early aviation and inventor of the bolometer), Jane Pickens Langley (singer), Jamie Langley (champion rugby player from England), Frank Langley (footballer from Australia), Elmo Langley (champion NASCAR racer), Bruno Langley (actor from England) and Eve Langley (novelist and poet from Australia).