Gideon
A surname that usually comes from the biblical personal name Gideon, sometimes through a patronymic or later Jewish adoption.
The #7,744 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 72,019 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally from the personal name Gideon, the biblical Hebrew name meaning something like “hewer” or “feller,” often understood as “one who cuts down” or “destroyer.” In English surname use, it most likely began as a patronymic or identifier meaning “son of Gideon.” Some 19th-century writers also suggested that in a few cases it may have entered England later through Jewish families rather than from medieval English usage.
History
The historical evidence in the excerpts points to relatively late and sparse surname use in England, with an example recorded in London in 1679. Early surname dictionaries treat it as uncommon and note that some forms may have been imported rather than long established. Related spellings such as Gidden and Giddy were also discussed by older writers, though not all of those are necessarily the same name in origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname writers noted that the name was rare enough in England that they suspected some bearers were of Jewish descent rather than descendants of a long medieval line.
From the historical record
“Possibly a nurse-name of Gideon. GIDEON. The personal name. GIDLEY. A parish in Devonshire. Gidley Castle, a fragmentary ruin, still be- longs to the family. GIL 128”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom