Probably named after one of the Earls of Longford whose family name is Pakenham, mostly likely after William Pakenham, 4th Earl of Longford (1819-87). The Pakenham family has had a connection with Co. Antrim since the mid-18th century, when Edward Michael Pakenham acquired Langford Lodge near Crumlin by his marriage to Catherine Rowley. The Pakenhams thus became significant landowners in this part of Co. Antrim.
The earliest name in this sequence was Pakenham Place, but this consisted of two rows of houses on Dublin Road, listed in the 1841 edition of Martin’s Belfast Directory. The name Pakenham Street was approved on 01/10/1868 (Belfast Council Minutes, cited in IHTA xvii, 32). Patton states: “developed in phases between 1860 and 1900”. (Patton, p. 262).
This is one of a number of streets off Dublin Road which commemorate pro-Union peers. The group includes Salisbury, Ashburne, Ventry, Hartington and Apsley.
http://glenavyhistory.com/parishes/killead-parish/langford-lodge/