Bjorn --- As I related some time ago, during the late 60s, there was sitcom on British TV about a Gordon's tailor shop in Edinburgh, Scotland. The tailor was Jewish and the shop had been in his family for generations and even bore one of "By Appointment, Tailor to (an early Scottish monarch)" legends on the shop window. Most of the comedy revolved around the constant confusion between his Jewishness and his Scottishmness. Just to reinforce the point, that not all Gordons may be Scottish: adjacent to a nearby military base her in Maryland, there was a combination tailor shop/dry cleaners run by a Gordon family, who were Jewish. Whether they were of Scottish descent or not, I have no idea. Anyway, in direct answer to your question: Yes, someone who was NOT a Gordon clan member could very well have the surname Gordon. An immigrant, wishing to assimilate more quickly, could very well choose the surname Gordon to replace his original surname. -- Cheers, Jim Gordon, Laurel, MD USA Bjorn Aas wrote: > > First; I don't mean any of you! > > Do you know if it happened that people i Scotland took the surname GORDON, > without belonging to the clan in some way? > > I Norway, people have taken the name of the farm they lived on as family > name, even if they never belonged to the owners or heirs to the property. > (Once a well known, controversial preacher found that one of his > farmhelpers had moved, and started a hot-dog stand with the preacher's name!) > > I'm searching for a link between GORDONS in Kirkbean, Kirkudbrightshire, > and the rest of the GORDONS. But it is slightly difficult to find archives > in Norway related to Scottish genealogy, even if we do have a Mormon Family > Research centre in our town. > > Yours friendly > > Bjorn Aas, TV-lecturer, Danvik Folkehogskole, N-3046 Drammen, Norway > (Danvik School of Media and Communication) > Tel: ..47 3226 7600 Fax: ..47 3226 7601 E-mail [email protected] > > A pro is someone who has done the same mistake often enough to recognize it > *before* they do it the next time.