A Scottish surname the Gordon surname goes back to the Boernician tribe of Scotland. Their word ‘gor’ means spacious and roomy and ‘din’ means a building or fort. The Welsh ‘gor’ means spacious and ‘din’ means fort. The Irish spelling is de Gordun.

Various spellings for Gordon include Gordun and Gorden.

English counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire have most of the Gordon families. Many are also in the London area. In Scotland Gordon surname is in the southern and eastern portions, especially in Aberdeenshire county.

In the United States the Gordon surname is mostly in the northeast, especially in New York, Pennsylvania. New Jersey and Ohio.

Famous: John Brown Gordon (Civil War Confederate general), Adam L. Gordon (19th century poet from Australia), Jeff Gordon (race car driver), George Hamilton Gordon (19th century prime minister of Scotland), Ruth Gordon (playwright and actress), Ben Gordon (professional basketball player), George Phineas Gordon (inventor of the Gordon print), Juliette Gordon (founder of the Girl Scouts of America), Richard F. Gordon (U. S. astronaut) and Douglas Gordon (artist from Scotland).