gordon
/ˈɡɔrdn̩/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.37 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
name
A Scottish habitational surname from the Celtic languages for someone from Gordon, Berwickshire.
name
An English habitational surname from Anglo-Norman for someone from Gourdon, France.
name
A habitational surname from Irish, an anglicization of de Górdún (“of Gordon (Berwickshire)”).
name
A surname from Irish [in turn originating as a patronymic], an adopted anglicization of Mag Mhuirneacháin (“son of Muirneachán”) (traditionally Magournahan).
name
A Jewish habitational surname probably for someone from Grodno, Belarus.
name
A male given name transferred from the surname.
name
A place name:
name
A place name:
Example Sentences
- "Mount, vassals, couch your lances, and cry, "Gordon! Gordon for Scotland and Elizabeth!""
- "Often he wrote good ones on casual slips and fancied them his; names like Trevellyan or Montressor or Delancey, with musical prefixes; or a good, short, beautiful, but dignified name like "Gordon Dane". He liked that one. It suggested something."
Etymology
The main etymology, associated with Celtic names, is from the Scots surname Gordon, from a place name, but the origin is debated: * If the English or Scots name is from a Brythonic language (such as Old Welsh or Old Breton), then possibly from a Proto-Brythonic compound such as *gor (“spacious”) + *din (“fort”); * If the Scots name is itself from English, then possibly from French Gourdon, derived from Gallo-Roman Latin Gordus, from Gaulish *Gordos; * Otherwise, possibly ultimately from Old English *gor-dūn (“mud hill”) whence a habitational name.
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
- Root: -, Gourdon, Gordus
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɡɔrdn̩/
- British English: /ˈɡɔːdn̩/
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in People.