Fun Facts About the Name Gaddis
- 39 babies named Gaddis: U.S. records list 39 babies given the name Gaddis from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Gaddis Mean?
Gaddis is an English surname of the patronymic type: it means "son of Gadd." It was formed from the Middle English personal name Gadde, also written Gadd, with the ending -is, a spelling of the genitive -es that marks descent in surnames such as Williams and Hughes.
The personal name behind it is usually traced to an Old English name Gadda or to the Old Norse byname Gaddr. Old Norse gaddr and Old English gād both mean "goad" or "spike," which suggests the original name was a nickname - perhaps for a maker or user of a goad, or for a tall, thin person. The name is best attested in English place names: Gaddesby in Leicestershire is generally explained as the village of a man called Gaddr or Gadda. Because the personal name survives mainly in such place names, the exact sense of Gadd is not certain, and a few writers have instead treated Gadd as a short form of a longer medieval name. The similar Scottish surname Geddes, which comes from a place name in Nairnshire, is generally considered unrelated.
Gaddis Name History & Origins
Gaddis began as an English family name rather than a given name. Hereditary surnames became established in England between roughly the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, and a patronymic like Gaddis identified a man as the son or descendant of someone called Gadde. For several centuries spelling was fluid, and the surname appears in forms such as Gaddes and Gaddis.
The surname was carried to North America by English-speaking emigrants and has been in use in the United States since the colonial period. There it has occasionally been used as a first name, normally as a family surname passed down to a child; the Yale historian Gaddis Smith is an example. As a given name it remains uncommon and is not traditional in England.
How Popular is the Name Gaddis?
Gaddis has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1919. Its best rank was #3,212 in 1919.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | #3,864 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1928 | #3,877 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1922 | #3,648 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1921 | #4,042 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1919 | #3,212 | 8 | 0.0008% |
| 1916 | #3,299 | 7 | 0.0008% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
Most Popular Boy Names That Start with G
How the Name Gaddis Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are introspective, prophetic, philosophical, and soul searching, but also can be analytical, critical and opinionated. You think deeply and clearly, have an air of mystery, can be solitary and secretive. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Gaddis's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Gaddis's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.