Geddes ( , ) is a

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

of English and Scottish origin. In Scotland and northern Ireland the name may be derived from the place-name Geddes in

Nairn Nairn (; gd, Inbhir Narann) is a town and royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is an ancient fishing port and market town around east of Inverness, at the point where the River Nairn enters the Moray Firth. It is the tradit ...

, Scotland. The ''Dictionary of American Family Names'' claims that the surname is more likely a

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

name derived from the name ''Geddie'', This webpage cites ''Dictionary of American Family Names'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, . itself perhaps an altered form of MacAdam. In this way, the letter ''G'' represents the

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

''mac'' "son of" and ''Eddie'' is a variant of

Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

. ''Geddie'' may also be a

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

meaning "greedy", derived from ''gedd'' meaning "pike", this could also refer to a voracious eater. This webpage cites ''Dictionary of American Family Names'',

, . The earliest written record of the surname ''Geddes'' is of William ''Ged'', from

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

, England, recorded within the Pipe Rolls in the year 1230. The surname Geddes can be represented in Scottish Gaelic as ''Geadasach'' and ''Geadais''. It has also been suggested that Geddes (''Geadais'' in

) is an earlier Gaelic spelling for

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

, 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.

Surname

Alasdair Macintosh Geddes Alasdair Macintosh Geddes (born May 1934) is Emeritus Professor of Infection at the University of Birmingham Medical School. In 1978, as the World Health Organization (WHO) was shortly to announce that the world's last case of smallpox had occur ...

(born 1934), Scottish medical doctor and scientist who diagnosed the world's last reported fatality due to

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

* Albert Geddes (1871–1935), New Zealand cricketer * Andrew Geddes (1783–1844), Scottish painter *

Andrew James Wray Geddes Air Commodore Andrew James Wray Geddes, (31 July 1906 – 15 December 1988) was the senior Royal Air Force officer during the Second World War who led the planning for Operation Manna, the air drop of food supplies to the starving population o ...

(1906–1988), British Air Commodore responsible for the planning of

Operation Manna Operation Manna was the codeword for a World War II, Second World War operation by the British and Greek forces in Greece in mid-October 1944, following the gradual withdrawal of the Axis Occupation of Greece, German occupying forces from the c ...

* Andy Geddes (1959–2022), Scottish footballer *

Anna Geddes Anna, Lady Geddes ( Morton; 19 November 1857 – 9 June 1917) was an English social environmental activist, musician and partner in the work of Sir Patrick Geddes. During the marriage, she provided organizational and intellectual support to many ...

(1857–1917), British social environmental activist *

Anne Geddes Anne Elizabeth Geddes (born 1956) is an Australian-born, New York City-based portrait photographer known primarily for her elaborately-staged photographs of infants. Geddes's books have been published in 83 countries. According to Amazon.com, ...

(born 1956), Australian-born photographer *

Alexander Geddes Alexander Geddes (14 September 1737 – 26 February 1802) was a Scottish theologian and scholar. He translated a major part of the Old Testament of the Catholic Bible into English. Translations and commentaries Geddes was born at Rathven, B ...

(1737–1802), Scottish theologian and scholar *

Auckland Geddes, 1st Baron Geddes Auckland Campbell Geddes, 1st Baron Geddes, (21 June 1879 – 8 June 1954) was a British academic, soldier, politician and diplomat. He was a member of David Lloyd George's coalition government during the First World War and also served as Amba ...

(1879–1954), British politician and diplomat *

Barbara Bel Geddes Barbara Bel Geddes (October 31, 1922 – August 8, 2005) was an American stage and screen actress, artist, and children's author whose career spanned almost five decades. She was best known for her starring role as Miss Ellie Ewing in the t ...

(1922–2005), American actress *

Bobby Geddes Robert Geddes (born 12 August 1960) is a Scotland former footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and is currently the goalkeeping coach for Falkirk. A product of the Highland Football League, Geddes was goalkeeping coach at first club Dundee ...

(born 1960), Scottish footballer *

Charles Geddes, Baron Geddes of Epsom Charles John Geddes, Baron Geddes of Epsom, CBE Kt. (1 March 1897 – 2 May 1983) was a British trade unionist. Born in Camberwell, London, his parents were active socialists in the Labour movement at a time that the Labour party was bein ...

(1897–1963), British entrepreneur and life peer *

Eric Campbell Geddes Sir Eric Campbell Geddes (26 September 1875 – 22 June 1937) was a British businessman and Conservative politician. With a background in railways, he served as head of Military Transportation on the Western Front, with the rank of major-ge ...

(1875–1937), British politician and First Lord of the Admiralty during WWI *

Euan Geddes, 3rd Baron Geddes Euan Michael Ross Geddes, 3rd Baron Geddes (born 3 September 1937) is a British Conservative peer and politician and current deputy speaker of the House of Lords. Early life The son of the 2nd Baron Geddes and the former Enid Mary Butler, only ...

, current Lord Geddes and Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords *

George Geddes (engineer) George Geddes (February 14, 1809 – October 7, 1883) was an American engineer, agronomist, historian and politician from New York. Life He was the son of engineer, surveyor and Congressman James Geddes. George Geddes studied engineering and s ...

(1809–1883), engineer, agricultural expert, and New York state senator *

George W. Geddes George Washington Geddes (July 16, 1824 – November 9, 1892) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served as a U.S. representative from Ohio for four terms from 1879 to 1887. Early life and career Born in Mount Vernon, Ohio, Gedd ...

(1824–1892), American politician, U.S. Representative from Ohio *

James Geddes (engineer) James Geddes (July 22, 1763 – August 19, 1838) was born in Carlisle in the Province of Pennsylvania and was a prominent engineer, surveyor, New York State legislator and U.S. Congressman who was instrumental in the planning of the Erie Cana ...

(1763–1838), American engineer and surveyor *

James Lorraine Geddes James Lorraine Geddes (March 19, 1827 – February 21, 1887) was a soldier in India, a brigade commander in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, college administrator and professor, and military songwriter. Biography Geddes was b ...

(1827–1887), American soldier and writer *

Jane Geddes Jane Geddes (born February 5, 1960) is a retired American professional golfer. She joined the LPGA Tour in 1983 and won two major championships and 11 LPGA Tour events overall. Geddes was the Vice President of Talent Relations of WWE. Career G ...

(born 1960), American golfer *

Jenny Geddes Janet "Jenny" Geddes (c. 1600 – c. 1660) was a Scottish market-trader in Edinburgh who is alleged to have thrown a stool at the head of the minister in St Giles' Cathedral in objection to the first public use of the Church of Scotland ...

(c. 1600 – c. 1660), Scottish activist, arguably catalyzed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms * Jim Geddes (born 1949), American baseball pitcher * John J. Geddes (born c. 1945), Canadian author, poet, retired academic *

John Maxwell Geddes John Maxwell Geddes (26 May 1941 – 7 September 2017) was a Scottish composer and academic. He taught in Scotland and in institutions in Europe and America; compositions include three symphonies. Life Geddes was born in Maryhill, Glasgow in 1941; ...

(1941–2017), Scottish composer *

Keith Geddes Keith Oliver Geddes (born 1947) is a professor emeritus in the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science within the University of Waterloo Faculty of Mathematics, Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario. He i ...

(born c. 1940s), Canadian computer scientist and academic *

Ken Geddes Kenneth Geddes (born September 27, 1947) is a former American football linebacker who played mainly for the Los Angeles Rams, in an eight-year career that lasted from 1971 to 1978 in the National Football League (NFL). Boys Town, Nebraska Ged ...

, American football player *

Leslie A. Geddes Leslie Alexander Geddes (May 24, 1921 – October 25, 2009) was an electrical engineer and physiologist. He conducted research in electromyography, cardiac output, cardiac pacing, ventricular defibrillation, and blood pressure. He discovered an ...

(1921–2009), Scottish-born engineer and physiologist * Margaret Geddes (disambiguation), multiple people *

Norah Geddes Norah Geddes (1887–1967) was a Scottish landscape designer. Early life and education Geddes was born in 1887. Her parents were Sir Patrick Geddes and Lady Anna Geddes. Her childhood is described as "unconventional and peripatetic" and lacking ...

(1887–1967), Scottish landscape designer *

Norman Bel Geddes Norman Bel Geddes (born Norman Melancton Geddes; April 27, 1893 – May 8, 1958) was an American theatrical and industrial designer. Early life Bel Geddes was born Norman Melancton Geddes in Adrian, Michigan and was raised in New Philadelp ...

(1893–1958), American theatrical and industrial designer *

Patrick Geddes Sir Patrick Geddes (2 October 1854 – 17 April 1932) was a British biologist, sociologist, Comtean positivist, geographer, philanthropist and pioneering town planner. He is known for his innovative thinking in the fields of urban planning ...

(1854–1932), Scottish biologist and town planner *

Pytt Geddes Pytt Geddes (born Gerda Meyer Bruun; 17 July 1917 – 4 March 2006) was responsible for bringing Tai chi, t'ai chi to the UK. She taught classes at The Place (London), The Place in London. She was born in Bergen, Norway, the daughter of a succ ...

(1917–2006), Norwegian-born tai chi teacher * Richard Geddes, American Academic *Sir Reay Geddes, former chairman of the

Dunlop Rubber Company Dunlop Ltd. (formerly Dunlop Rubber) was a British multinational company involved in the manufacture of various natural rubber goods. Its business was founded in 1889 by Harvey du Cros and he involved John Boyd Dunlop who had re-invented and ...

* Scott Geddes, Australian rugby league footballer *

Wilhelmina Geddes Wilhelmina Geddes ''HRUA'' (25 May 1887 – 10 August 1955) was an Irish stained glass artist who was an important figure within the Irish Arts and Crafts movement and also the twentieth century British stained glass revival. Notable works includ ...

(1887–1955), Irish stained glass artist *

William Duguid Geddes Sir William Duguid Geddes (21 November 1828''Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950''9 February 1900) was a Scottish scholar and educationalist, who promoted the cause of classical Greek at the University of Aberdeen and later became ...

(1828–1900), Scottish scholar and educationalist *

William George Nicholson Geddes William George Nicholson Geddes CBE DSc FRSE FEng (29 July 1913 – 10 November 1993) was a Scottish civil engineer. Life George Geddes was born in Oldhamstocks, East Lothian the son of Ina Nicholson and her husband, William Brydon Geddes ...

(1913–1993), Scottish civil engineer

Given name

Geddes Granger Makandal Akhenation Daaga (born Geddes Granger; 13 August 1935 – 8 August 2016) was a Trinidad and Tobago political activist and former revolutionary. He was the leader of the 1970 Black Power Revolution. During the unrest he was arrested and ch ...

, also known as Makandal Daaga, Trinidad and Tobago political activist and former revolutionary *Geddes Rodgers, Artist Castlemaine Australia

References

{{surname, Geddes English-language surnames Surnames of Scottish origin Toponymic surnames

Surname

Given name

See also

References