Gaddis
A surname with several possible roots, most often treated as a spelling variant of a name like Gadd or Gaddy.
The #3,877 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 33,772 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Gaddis is usually explained as an English surname formed from a shorter personal name or nickname such as Gadd or Gaddy, with the ending -is/-s often signaling “son of” or simple family descent in English surnames. The base name may ultimately be connected to the old nickname Gadd, a word associated in Middle English with a spur or goad, though some instances may also reflect regional spelling variation rather than one single origin. Because the name appears in several similar forms, its exact derivation can differ from family to family.
History
The surname is found mainly in English-speaking countries, especially the United States, where it likely arrived through multiple lines of British ancestry. In many cases it seems to have developed as a variant spelling alongside forms such as Gadd, Gaddy, and Gadis. The modern American distribution suggests the name was carried by colonial-era or later immigrant families and then fixed in local records under several spellings.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because surname spellings were often recorded phonetically, one family line might appear as Gaddis in one record and Gaddy or Gadis in another.