Find out how popular the last name Geddes is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Geddes.

Geddes, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Geddes surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Geddes in America

Geddes is the 8882nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Geddes surname appeared 3,687 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Geddes.

We can also compare 2010 data for Geddes to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Geddes

The surname GEDDES is of Scottish origin, derived from the Gaelic personal name Gillie, which means "servant." The name first appeared in the late 12th century in the area of Perthshire, Scotland.

The earliest recorded spelling of the name was Geddas, found in the records of Moray in 1265. It was later spelled as Geddys, Geddes, and Geddies. The name is believed to have originated from the Gaelic word "gille," meaning a young man or servant.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name GEDDES is in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland in 1334, which mentions a John Geddas. The Domesday Book, the great survey of England compiled in 1086, does not contain any references to the surname GEDDES, as it was primarily a Scottish name.

A notable figure with the surname GEDDES was Sir William Duguid Geddes (1828-1900), a Scottish sculptor and painter. He studied at the Trustees' Academy in Edinburgh and later became the President of the Royal Scottish Academy.

Another prominent individual was Patrick Geddes (1854-1932), a Scottish biologist, sociologist, and pioneering town planner. He is known for his concept of "regional survey" and his contribution to the development of modern town planning.

Sir Auckland Campbell Geddes (1879-1954), a British businessman and politician, served as the President of the Board of Trade and Minister of National Service during World War I.

In the literary world, Jennie Geddes (c. 1600-1660) was a Scottish Presbyterian who gained notoriety for her role in the events that led to the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. She allegedly threw a stool at the minister during a church service, protesting the introduction of the Book of Common Prayer.

Another notable figure was Sir Eric Campbell Geddes (1875-1937), a British businessman and politician who served as the First Lord of the Admiralty during World War I. He was instrumental in improving the efficiency of the British shipbuilding industry during the war.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Geddes

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Geddes.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Geddes was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Geddes has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Geddes was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Geddes, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!