Gordon is a Scottish surname and clan name taken from a place in Berwickshire; the place name is usually explained from Brittonic words meaning "great fort" or "spacious fort". General Charles Gordon and later the chef Gordon Ramsay carried it into the wider world, and it was a top 100 name in the United States in the 1930s. Gordon ranked number 641 in 2000 and has slipped gradually to number 1052 in 2025.