Gordon (surname)


Gordon is a surname with multiple origins, especially Scottish. The masculine given name Gordon is derived from the surname.

Origin of the surname

The Scottish surname Gordon may be derived from several locations. One possibility is from Gordon, in Berwickshire. Another possibility is from a similarly named place in Normandy. The English surname Gordon is derived from the placename of Gourdon, in Saône-et-Loire, France. This location is derived from the Gallo-Roman personal name Gordus. In Ireland, the surname Gordon is of several origins. One origin of the surname is from the Scottish surname, which spread into Ireland in the 17th century during the plantation era; in the Irish language this name is spelt de Górdún. Also, the surname Gordon is an Anglicised form of the Irish language Mag Mhuirneacháin, which is a patronymic form of the personal name Muirneachán. This personal name is derived from the Irish language word muirneach, meaning "beloved". Another origin of the Irish name Gordon is as an Anglicised form of the Irish language surname Mórbhoirneach.
Gordon is also a Jewish surname, likely derived from the city of Grodno, in Belarus—thus, of an origin completely unrelated to the British surname though spelled the same in English.
The Spanish, and Galician surname Gordón is derived from places like-named in the Spanish and Galician languages. The Basque language Gordon is also derived from a like-named placename. Another origin for the Spanish surname is from the nickname Gordo, which is derived from the Spanish language word gordo, meaning "fat".
Gordon is also a British Romany surname with origins on the Scottish-English Border; during the 17th and 18th century fearing persecution many Gypsy folk in the North of England and the South of Scotland chose to change their surnames to blend into the local societies they were living within. These Gordons are completely unrelated to other ancestral sources of the name.

List of people

List of people with a related name

List of nobility

Dukes of Aubigny
Earls and Marquesses of Huntly
Earls and Marquesses of Aberdeen
Earls of Aboyne
Viscounts of Kenmure
Descent of titles during attainder:Robert Gordon, 7th Viscount of Kenmure John Gordon, 8th Viscount of Kenmure William Gordon, 9th Viscount of Kenmure
Viscount of Melgum
Viscount Gordon
Spanish Gordons

Fictional characters