View source for Geddes (surname)

{{Other uses|Geddes (disambiguation)}}
'''Geddes''' ({{IPAc-en|UK|ˈ|ɡ|ɛ|d|ɪ|s}} {{respell|GHED|iss}}, {{IPAc-en|US|ˈ|ɡ|ɛ|d|iː|z}} {{respell|GHED|eez}})<ref>{{cite EPD|17|Geddes|page=210}}</ref> is a [[surname]] of English and Scottish origin. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, the name may be derived from the place-name [[Geddes, Highland|Geddes]] in [[Nairn]], Scotland. The ''Dictionary of American Family Names'' claims that the surname is more likely a [[patronymic]] name derived from ''Geddie'',<ref name="Geddes">{{cite web|url=http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Geddes-family-history.ashx|title=Geddes Name Meaning and History|accessdate=14 December 2008|work=[[Ancestry.com]]}} This webpage cites ''Dictionary of American Family Names'', [[Oxford University Press]], {{ISBN|0-19-508137-4}}.</ref> perhaps an altered form of MacAdam. In this way, the letter ''G'' represents the [[Scottish Gaelic]] ''mac,'' "son of," and ''Eddie'' is a variant of [[Adam]]. ''Geddie'' may also be a [[nickname]] meaning "greedy," derived from ''gedd,'' meaning "pike," which could also refer to a voracious eater.<ref name="Geddie">{{cite web|url=http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Geddie-family-history.ashx|title=Geddie Name Meaning and History|accessdate=14 December 2008|work=[[Ancestry.com]]}} This webpage cites ''Dictionary of American Family Names'', [[Oxford University Press]], {{ISBN|0-19-508137-4}}.</ref> The earliest written record of the surname ''Geddes'' is of William ''Ged'', from [[Shropshire]], England, recorded within the [[Pipe Rolls]] in 1230.<ref>{{cite book |last=Reaney |first=Percy Hilde |author2=Wilson, Richard Middlewood |title=A Dictionary of English Surnames |edition=3rd |year=2006 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=0-203-99355-1 |page=1295}}</ref> The surname Geddes can be represented in Scottish Gaelic as ''Geadasach'' and ''Geadais''.<ref>{{cite web |author=Mac an Tàilleir, Iain |title=Ainmean Pearsanta |url=http://www2.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/faclair/cuspair/Ainmean_pearsanta.docx |work=[[Sabhal Mòr Ostaig]] |publisher= |accessdate=15 October 2009 |format=[[docx]] |archive-date=17 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717141309/http://www2.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/faclair/cuspair/Ainmean_pearsanta.docx |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Gaelic-English Dictionary |last=Mark |first=Colin |year=2003 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=0-203-27706-6 }}</ref>

It has also been suggested that Geddes (''Geadais'' in [[Scottish Gaelic language|Scottish Gaelic]]) is an earlier Gaelic spelling for [[Cádiz]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hirschman|first=Elizabeth Caldwell|title=When Scotland was Jewish : DNA evidence, archeology, analysis of migrations, and public and family records show twelfth century Semitic roots|date=2007|publisher=McFarland & Co|others=Donald N. Yates|isbn=978-0-7864-2800-7|location=Jefferson, N.C.|oclc=84838483}}</ref> an ancient and important seaport in southern Spain (Latin ''Gādēs)''. This proposal for the origin of the surname Geddes is based on several lines of evidence connecting people and place names in Scotland with Jewish trading routes to France and Spain.{{CN|date=February 2023}}

==Surname==
*[[Alasdair Macintosh Geddes]] (born 1934), Scottish medical doctor and scientist who diagnosed the world's last reported fatality due to [[smallpox]]
*[[Albert Geddes]] (1871–1935), New Zealand cricketer
*[[Andrew Geddes (artist)|Andrew Geddes]] (1783–1844), Scottish painter
*[[Andrew James Wray Geddes]] (1906–1988), British Air Commodore responsible for the planning of [[Operations Manna and Chowhound|Operation Manna]]
*[[Andy Geddes (footballer born 1959)|Andy Geddes]] (1959–2022), Scottish footballer
*[[Anna Geddes]] (1857–1917), British social environmental activist
*[[Anne Geddes]] (born 1956), Australian-born photographer
*[[Alexander Geddes]] (1737–1802), Scottish theologian and scholar
*[[Auckland Geddes, 1st Baron Geddes]] (1879–1954), British politician and diplomat
*[[Barbara Bel Geddes]] (1922–2005), American actress
*[[Bobby Geddes]] (born 1960), Scottish footballer
*[[Charles Geddes, Baron Geddes of Epsom]] (1897–1963), British entrepreneur and life peer
*[[Eric Campbell Geddes]] (1875–1937), British politician and First Lord of the Admiralty during WWI
*[[Euan Geddes, 3rd Baron Geddes]], current Lord Geddes and Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords
*[[George Geddes (engineer)]] (1809–1883), engineer, agricultural expert, and New York state senator
*[[George W. Geddes]] (1824–1892), American politician, U.S. Representative from Ohio
*[[James Geddes (engineer)]] (1763–1838), American engineer and surveyor
*[[James Lorraine Geddes]] (1827–1887), American soldier and writer
*[[Jane Geddes]] (born 1960), American golfer
*[[Jenny Geddes]] (c. 1600 – c. 1660), Scottish activist, arguably catalyzed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
*[[Jim Geddes]] (born 1949), American baseball pitcher
*[[John Maxwell Geddes]] (1941–2017), Scottish composer
*[[Keith Geddes]] (born c. 1940s), Canadian computer scientist and academic
*[[Ken Geddes]], American football player
*[[Leslie A. Geddes]] (1921–2009), Scottish-born engineer and physiologist
*[[Margaret Geddes (disambiguation)]], multiple people
*[[Norah Geddes]] (1887–1967), Scottish landscape designer
*[[Norman Bel Geddes]] (1893–1958), American theatrical and industrial designer
*[[Patrick Geddes]] (1854–1932), Scottish biologist and town planner
*[[Paul Geddes (politician)]] (1810–1889), American merchant and politician
*[[Pytt Geddes]] (1917–2006), Norwegian-born tai chi teacher
*[[Richard Geddes]], American Academic
*Sir Reay Geddes, former chairman of the [[Dunlop Rubber|Dunlop Rubber Company]]
*[[Scott Geddes]], Australian rugby league footballer
*[[Wilhelmina Geddes]] (1887–1955), Irish stained glass artist
*[[William Duguid Geddes]] (1828–1900), Scottish scholar and educationalist
*[[William George Nicholson Geddes]] (1913–1993), Scottish civil engineer

==Given name==
*[[Geddes Granger]], also known as Makandal Daaga, a Trinidad and Tobago political activist and former revolutionary
*Geddes Rodgers, Artist, Castlemaine, Australia

==See also==
* [[Baron Geddes]], a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
* [[Clan Ged]], Scottish clan
* [[Geddes (disambiguation)]], other things named ''Geddes''
* [[Gaddy (surname)|Gaddy]], a Scottish surname
* [[Kenneth Widmerpool]], a central character in [[Anthony Powell]]'s ''[[A Dance to the Music of Time]]'' novel sequence, "Geddes" being his grandfather's original surname.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{surname|Geddes}}

[[Category:English-language surnames]]
[[Category:Surnames of Scottish origin]]
[[Category:Toponymic surnames]]