Geddes (surname)
Geddes ( , ) 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", 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. The earliest  written record of the surname "Geddes" is of William "Ged", from Shropshire, 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 Scottish Gaelic) is an earlier Gaelic spelling for Cádiz, 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.