The History of the Cairns Family and the theory behind the name origins.

In a book entitled "Surnames of Scotland" by George Frazer Black pub. N.Y. Public Library 1946. Black gives his views on the origins of the surname Cairns.

"Cairns, of territorial origin from the lands of Cairns in the Parish of Midcalder, Midlothian. The first of the name recorded is William de Carnys who appears as a character witness in 1349 (A History of the family of Cairnes or Cairns P4) Though this is the earliest mention of the name in record there must have been many of the surname living at an earlier date as in the later half of the fourteenth century many individuals of the name are mentioned in documents referring to the adjoining counties of East Lothian and West Lothian. In 1368 William de Carnys and his son Duncan de Carnys of the Baronies of Easterquyburne and Westerquyburne from David II (RMS, 1,33) two years later David de Carnys appears as a Baillie of Edinburgh (ER,N,P208)

William de Carnys was a Constable of Linlithgow Castle and of the Castle of Edinburgh in 1372(ibid) Thomas de Cairnis held a land in Edinburgh in 1386(Egidii P23) Many of the name entered the service of the church as in 1395 there appears Thomas de Karnys Cleric and Notary Public of the diocese of St. Andrews (RPSA P5) and William de Kairnis who held the same office in 1404 (ibid P11) in 1437, as Vicar of Glamis founded the alter of St. Terons in St. Andrews. This William must have lived to a good old age as he is mentioned again as Vicar of Glamis in 1458(Seals Supp 155) Alexander de Carnys who witnessed a Charter the Lands of Cranshaws in 1401(Swinton PXV8i) is probably the individual who was Provost of Lincluden in 1408. Provost was the first of his name in Galloway where he accumulated a large amount of land which he bestowed on his nephew John founder of the Galloway branch of the family. Magistrate Alexander de Carnys had a safe conduct to England in 1418 .(BAIN iv887) The surname appears in Arbroath in 1454 (LCD 175) and in Paisley in 1503 (RMP P61) it was a common name in Edinburgh from the sixteenth century onwards (Edin Marr) Cairnis 1403, Cairneis 1552, Kairns 1634, Kairns 1525, Karnys 1578."

Having read H. C. Lawlors book entitled `A History of the Family of Cairnes or Cairns` published & printed by Elliot Stock London 1906. It is my considered opinion that Blacks description of the Cairns family origin (above) has been taken directly from Lawlors work since there are so many striking similarities.

It is also my opinion that although H. C. Lawlor did a marvelous job in recording the History of the Cairnes or Cairns family I am not totally convinced that the name originated in Midcalder.

What we must remember is that in 1906 or before when Lawlor carried out his research he did not have the same kind of access to records that we have today. If he had, he would have been able to see how widespread the family name was. I often wonder if Lawlor himself was unsure of the family origins as there is more than a hint of doubt in this quotation by him.

"Though this is the earliest mention of the name in record there must have been many of the surname living at an earlier date as in the later half of the fourteenth century many individuals of the name are mentioned in documents referring to the adjoining counties of East Lothian and West Lothian."

Lawlor makes good use of land deeds, coats of arms, crests, charters and seals in order to carry out his genealogy. But like most modern genealogists, Lawlor struggled to find documentation to confirm some of his research and much information is missing from the pedigree charts. In particular the names of the females and of those who were not the direct heirs to the lands. The reason for this appears to be that the main source records available to him have been related to the transfer of ownership of land and property.

Lawlor 's research does however indicate that one family at least took its name from the Land which it owned but we cannot assume that everyone with the surname Cairns or its variants can claim descendency from this one man.

There is a lesson to be learned here and its a lesson I had to learn the hard way. We should be careful in assuming facts without proper evidence to support our research. Its easy to claim a lineage to someone elses genealogy but it is a great disappointment when you find the the work is flawed.

What we must remember is that Lawlor was researching his "Own" family when he claims that the Cairns family has its origins in Midcalder. What Lawlor forgot to add was that this was the origins of "His" Cairns line and Black has failed to see this.

As a result any enquiries you might care to make regarding a Cairns family and it's variants including connections to the Clan Grant & Clan Ferguson of which the surname is supposedly a Sept.. It is likely that Black's words will be quoted in the reply.

It is my belief that if Lawlor had the same kind of access to the records that we enjoy today then I feel sure he would have reached a different conclusion as to the origin of the surname or at least phrased his description a little better.

By examining the IGI records it can be clearly seen that the Cairns family name appears in many little pockets of the population across Britain & Ireland. The name also appears in the records of various religious denominations.

In most cases the Cairns population appear to live near coastal regions with good access to the Sea. It can also be seen that there was a large Cairns population in Fife and in Ireland and the name appears in Wales from quite early times. We also know from history that Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England have at some point been invaded by the Vikings and the Romans and there is much evidence that Viking names have remained in Scotland "Anderson is a prime example" It is therefore my belief that the name Cairns has its origins in some Celtic family name and probably derives from a name like Cairnson or Karnyson.

Records also show that there are many variations in the spelling of the name and this I believe can be explained away by the differences in the pronunciation of a name. Someone from outside Britain & Ireland may not be aware of the strong regional accents that exist in Britain & Ireland and in earlier times the fact that many could not read or write and could barely scratch a cross to signify their MARK on paper.

Some examples of the spelling variations:

Cairns, Cairnes, Cairnis, Carnes, Carns, Cayrns, Carnys, Cearns, Kairns, Kairnes, Kairnis, Karnes, Karns, Kayrns, Karnys, Kearns,

Fashion in the spelling of words may also have played a role in the formation of the name. It can be seen by comparing documents including church records in the period 1500 - 1730 with 1730 - 1850 that the use of the letter 'e' in the earlier period was more prolific. To use the letter 'e' or not seems to have been a matter for debate. We also see in earlier times that the Session Clerk's and Clergy had great difficulty with spelling. Take simple names like Alison or Joan. It is surprising how many variations in spelling they generated. Allison, Alizin, Alisoun, Alisone, Johan, Johann, Johane, Johanne the list goes on.

I also wonder about the origins of the letters "de" in `William de Carnys` what the letters might mean, and why were they dropped from the surname.

Some visitors to the website have suggested it may be Norman in origin and there is perhaps some truth in that through the "Auld Alliance" with France. Citizens of France became Citizens of Scotland and visa versa. The term is used with other family names of the period and not unique to Carnys

In his book Lawlor mentions Cairns Castle at the foot two hills Easter Cairn Hill and Wester Cairn Hill on the edge of the Pentland Hills. The Castle now a ruin, sits on the edge of the Harperig Reservoir at the source of the Water of Leith near Mid Calder.

I would like to be able to say that I can trace my forebears back to the first William de Carnys in 1349 but this would be wishful thinking on my part. I would love to hear from anyone who can prove they are descendent from William de Carnys or any Cairns family with links to Cairns Castle.

The best that I can claim is that I am the great great great grandson of David Cairns a Groom at St. Clemontwells and his wife Mary Chalmers or Chambers who lived in the parish of Tranent in the 1820s and moved to the parish of Inveresk Musselburgh circa 1827.

It is my belief that David my great great great grandfather was the son of Thomas Cairns and Jean or Johan Hay and his grandparents were David Cairns & Elizabeth Cornall from the parish of Tranent and that his great grandparents were Alexander Cairns and Agnes Jaque or Jack from the parish of Cranston in Midlothian. It is unlikely that any of this can be proved since many records have been lost or there are no secondary records such as a census to confirm any findings.

I have seen various claims in newsgroups and websites on the internet that there is a Cairns Clan. In all the years that I have been researching my family surname I have never come across any firm evidence of a Cairns Clan.

My understanding of the Clan system is that it had its origins in the Highlands of Scotland and since 'Black' states that the family has its origins in the Lowlands of Scotland this appears to rule out that theory, but then again, perhaps 'Black' may have got it wrong. Perhaps we should keep an open mind on this one. If you should find any hard evidence of a Clan Cairns ( and I don't mean the stuff from a tartan shoppe ) please let me know.

I have also heard that the Cairns family name is a Sept of the Grant & Ferguson Clans this is perhaps more likely although once again all my enquiries to organizations making this claim return a less than convincing statement this includes the Lord Lyons Office who appear to endorse the claims by Tartan Manufacturers that the Cairns family has these Clan connections. However, I believe this is more to do with commercial interest's rather than proper research. Once again if anyone can furnish me with some evidence to prove a Cairns connection with these Clans then I would be more than happy to to print a retraction and add the detail on this website.

Although I cannot claim any lineage to the family that gave its name to Cairns Castle nor can I claim any lineage to the man who's name was given to a town in North Queensland Australia I take some pride in knowing that someone had the forethought to name a castle and a place in paradise with a name like CAIRNS.

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Last updated November 2000 Archie Cairns