Gordon
A Scottish surname most likely taken from the parish of Gordon in Berwickshire, though older writers proposed several more exotic origins.
The #161 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 1,908 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest historical explanation is that Gordon is a locational surname from the parish of Gordon in Berwickshire, where the family was established early. Older writers also suggested links to places in Normandy, Macedonia, or Thessaly, but these are generally treated as less convincing. Some etymologists further connected the name with a Gaelic place-element meaning a round hill or fort, but that is part of the broader debate rather than a settled origin.
History
The Gordon family became prominent in Scotland very early, and the surname later spread widely through Britain and beyond. Because the name belonged to a major noble house, it also became familiar as a hereditary family name rather than just a place-based byname. Nineteenth-century writers sometimes attached romantic stories to the name, including a connection with Bertrand de Gourdon, but these are not accepted as the main explanation.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some older heraldic writers even tried to explain the name through a punning coat of arms, treating the family’s supporters as a visual play on the surname.
From the historical record
“propriately borne by a patriotic hero. GORDON. According to some genealo- gists this name is derived from Gordonia, a town in IMacedonia : according to others from a manor in Normandy — origins liter- ally too " far-fetched," since the parish of Gordon, in Berwickshire, where we find the family located at an early…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom