This is a surname of Scottish origins. Recorded as Goudie, Gowdy, Gourdie, Gardy, and others, it derives from the surname Goldie, and reflects the phonetic spelling of the popular pronunciation of that name. Goldie is itself a diminutive form of the surname Gold, which is derived from the Old English pre 7th Century personal name "Golda", a byname from the precious metal "gold". Gold as a surname was recorded in Scotland as early as 1296 when Adam Gold, bailiff of Montrose, rendered homage to King Edward 1st of England. The surnames as Goudie, Gowdie, Gowdy and Goudy are first recorded in Edinburgh from 1598, but an earlier, northern form appears in Shetland (see below). Recordings from surviving registers include Robert Gowdie, listed as a writer in Edinburgh in 1643, and John Gawdie who matriculated as a member of the Company of Merchants of Edinburgh in 1687. The marriage of James Gowdy and Agnes Smith was recorded in Borthwick, Midlothian, on June 12th 1704, whilst in Ireland Ann Catherine Gourdie was christened at Templemichael, County Longford, on January 11th 1807. The first recorded spelling of the family name may be that of Gawane Gadie. This was dated 1576, at Dunrossness, in the Shetland Isles, during the reign of King James V1, of Scotland, 1567 - 1625. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.