Early forms suggest it derives from gor gyn – upper wedge – which may refer to the tapering shape of the land between the Water of Leith and the Craiglockhart hills.

The firm moved to various sites in the city, before completing the St. Andrews Biscuit Works factory on Robertson Avenue in 1888.

[7] St. Martin of Tours church is in the Anglican Communion Gorgie Gospel Hall belongs to the Open Brethren Christian tradition.

The recent refurbishment of many of the older buildings has brought a more cosmopolitan nature to the district, allowing it to retain several smaller businesses.

Gorgie City Farm[9] was established by local people in 1982 on the site of a derelict railway goods yard.

Set up as a community project with the aim of improving education in agriculture, horticulture and rural crafts for people living in the area.

[11] In 2012, Gorgie was the centre of a Legionnaire's Disease outbreak believed to originate from factory cooling towers in the area.

[12] The Gorgie area is within the Edinburgh South West constituency for the Westminster Parliament and, since 2024, is represented by the Rt Hon Scott Arthur MP of the Labour Party.

The current representation is: Denis Dixon and Catherine Fullerton (both SNP), Donald Wilson (Scottish Labour Party) and Ashley Graczyk (Conservatives).

It was opened on 1 December 1884 and served the area until it was closed in 1962 when passenger rail services were withdrawn from the Edinburgh Suburban line as part of the British Railways rationalisation programme known as the Beeching Axe.

[17] In 1886, with the city continuing to expand, tenements replaced the old ground and Hearts moved across Gorgie Road to the present site,[17] which was leased from Edinburgh Corporation.