Geddes (UK: /ˈɡɛdɪs/ GHED-iss, US: /ˈɡɛdiːz/ GHED-eez)[1] is a surname of English and Scottish origin. In Scotland and northern Ireland the name may be derived from the place-name Geddes in Nairn, Scotland. The Dictionary of American Family Names claims that the surname is more likely a patronymic name derived from the name Geddie,[2] itself 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", this could also refer to a voracious eater.[3] The earliest written record of the surname Geddes is of William Ged, from Shropshire, England, recorded within the Pipe Rolls in the year 1230.[4] The surname Geddes can be represented in Scottish Gaelic as Geadasach and Geadais.[5][6]
It has also been suggested that Geddes (Geadais in Scottish Gaelic) is an earlier Gaelic spelling for Cádiz, [7] 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.[citation needed]