Gord History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The ancestors of the first family to use the name Gord lived among the Boernician tribe of ancient Scotland. They lived on the lands of Gordon, in the former county of Berwickshire, since ancient times. There is little doubt that bearers of Gord came to Britiain with the Normans, and it is generally thought that they descend from the place named "Gourdon" in Saone-et-Loire, Normandy, but the oldest roots of the bearers of Gord in Scotland may lie with the Boernician tribe of ancient Scotland. It is entirely possible that the Gord surname was created from a pre-existing place name Gordon. It has been suggested that this place-name was originally derived from the Welsh (ancient Brithonic) words, gor and din, which mean "spacious" and "fort," and such, Gord would be a type hereditary surname, known as a habitation name: one that is derived from a pre-exiting name for a town, village, parish, or farmstead.
Early Origins of the Gord family
The surname Gord was first found in Berwickshire an ancient county of Scotland, presently part of the Scottish Borders Council Area, located in the eastern part of the Borders Region of Scotland, where legend has it that they were granted lands by King Malcolm Ceanmore, successor to MacBeth, in 1057, thus placing bearers of the name in lowland Scotland, before the invasion of the Normans.
"The earliest known home of the Scots family was in Berwickshire, and here we find a place name Gordon, from which the surname may have been derived. There was also a distinguished family named Gurdon in Hampshire, England, with whom it has been suggested they were connected. It has been further suggested that the Gordons were cadets of the Swintons as the coats of arms borne by the two families are the same. " 1
"According to some genealogists this name is derived from Gordonia, a town in Macedonia; according to others from a manor in Normandy-origins literally too "far-fetched," since the parish of Gordon, in Berwickshire, where we find the family located at an early date, is its true source. " 2
"There is a nice little romance to the tune of making the founder of the family a certain Bertrand de Gourdon, who shot Richard the Lion-Hearted at Chaluz. According to history, this Gourdon was a common archer, who having been brought before the dying monarch was forgiven by him, and ordered to be liberated with a handsome present; but the Flemish general, who had no notion of such generosity, very coolly ordered him to be flayed alive. How, after such an operation, he could get into Scotland we are not told." 2
The first Gordon on record was Richer de Gordum, lord of the Barony of Gordon in the Merse, who granted a piece of land and the church of St. Michael between the years 1150-1180, to the monks of Kelso. 1
Adam Gordon acquired by Royal grant the lands of Coldstream on the River Tweed and his successors held these lands for many centuries.
Early History of the Gord family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gord research. Another 203 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1280, 1402, 1439, 1449, 1470, 1498, 1501, 1514, 1546, 1562, 1594, 1609, 1610, 1611, 1614, 1619, 1632, 1635, 1637, 1644, 1651, 1652, 1665, 1679, 1697, 1720, 1761 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Gord History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Gord Spelling Variations
Boernician names that evolved in the largely preliterate Middle Ages are often marked by considerable spelling variations. Gord has been spelled Gordon, Gordun, Gôrdon (Gaelic) and others.
Early Notables of the Gord family
Notable amongst the family name during their early history was
- Sir Adam de Gordon, Lord of Gordon (died 1402), 14th-century Scottish baron
- Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Huntly (died 1470) when he succeeded his father as Lord Gordon he began using his mother's family name of Gordon, was knighted in 1439 and was Lord of Badenoch, Gordon, St...
- George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly (1514-1562), Scottish nobleman, Lord High Chancellor in 1546 who led a revolt against Mary Queen of Scots and was killed at the battle of Corrichie
- Sir John Gordon, 1st Baronet (1610-1644), a Scottish Royalist supporter of Charles I during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
- John Gordon (1609-1679), the 14th Earl of Sutherland, Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland
- George Gordon, 1st Earl of Aberdeen (1637-1720), Lord Chancellor of Scotland
Migration of the Gord family to Ireland
Some of the Gord family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 77 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Gord migration to the United States +
Some of the Boernician-Scottish Clan families who came to North America were Loyalists who went north to Canada after the American War of Independence. Families on both sides of the border went on to found two of the world's great nations. This century, families with Scottish roots have rediscovered their heritage through highland games and clan societies. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families reveals a number of immigrants bearing the name Gord or a variant listed above:
Gord Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- Ole Gord, who landed in Illinois in 1857 3
Gord migration to Canada +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Gord Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
- L. Gord, aged 25 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Sisters" departing from the port of Liverpool, England but died on Grosse Isle in June 1847 4
Gord migration to New Zealand +
Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:
Gord Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
- Mr. Richard Gord, Cornish settler travelling from Launceston aboard the ship "Halcyon" arriving in New Zealand in 1853 5
- J. F. Gord, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Sydenham" in 1870
Contemporary Notables of the name Gord (post 1700) +
- Gord Kirke (b. 1945), Canadian sports and entertainment lawyer
- Gord Steeves, Canadian politician, city councilor from Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Gord Hampson (b. 1959), Canadian hockey player
- Gord Bamford (b. 1976), Australian country music singer
The Gord Motto +
The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.
Motto: Bydand
Motto Translation: Remaining.
Citations +
- Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
- Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
- Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
- Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 30)
- New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html