Langston is an English surname and place name from the Old English lang and stan, meaning "long stone", most likely a standing stone that marked a boundary. Poet Langston Hughes, a leading voice of the Harlem Renaissance, made it a first name with weight, and it is especially cherished in African American families. In the United States Langston entered the top 1000 in 2013, peaked at number 652 in 2016 and ranks exactly number 1000 in 2025.