At a meeting in March 1972 the old Aberdeenshire County Council voted in favour of recommending to the government that Gordon should be the new district's name, after the Clan Gordon which had extensive landholdings in the area, including the clan's then principal seat of Haddo House.

Political control of the council from 1975 until its abolition in 1996 was as follows:[5] The council initially met at Inverurie Town Hall and had its main offices in a converted former bank at 3 High Street in Inverurie, with additional offices in various other locations.

Shortly after the council's creation it decided to consolidate its meeting place and offices at a purpose-built headquarters.

Gordon House was subsequently built on Blackhall Road in Inverurie in phases between 1980 and 1982.

The first quarter of the shield showed three gold boars' heads on a blue ground, the arms of the Gordon family, from whom the district's name was derived.