Recorded in the spellings of Langmaid, Langmead, Langmede, and the dialectal tranposition Longmate, this name is English, and of residential origins. It describes a person who was resident at a dwelling by a "long meadow" or from a village so named such as Longmeadow, near Cambridge. The first element derives from the Olde English pre 7th Century "lang" meaning "long", plus "moed", a meadow. The surname is first recorded in the 13th Century, and in its various forms is also well recorded in the surviving church registers of the post medieval period. Examples of recordings include Hugh Langemede of Somerset in the year 1274, and John de Longo Prato, a latinized version of the name in the same year, in Cambridge. Later examples include on November 12th 1793, Barak Longmate who married Elizabeth Lock at St. Paul's church, Covent Garden, Westminster, whilst on July 1st 1808 James Langmead married Maria Briss at St George's chapel, Hanover Square, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is believed to be that of Richard Langemede. which was dated 1272, in the historical record of the county of Somerset known as "Kiby's Quest". This was during the reign of King Edward 1st known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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