Show ContentsKairns History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancestors of the Kairns family lived among the Strathclyde-Briton people of the Scottish/English Borderlands. Kairns is a name for someone who lived in Midlothian. The name Kairns is also derived from the Gaelic word carn, which means pile of stones, and referred to the stone burial chambers we now call cairns. 1

Early Origins of the Kairns family

The surname Kairns was first found in Midlothian, in the lands of Cairns in the parish of Mid-Calder.

"The first of the name recorded is William de Carnys, who appears as a charter witness in 1349. 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 latter half of the fourteenth century many individuals of the name are mentioned in documents referring to the adjoining counties of Midlothian and West Lothian. In 1363 William de Carnys and his son, Duncan de Carnys, had a charter of the baronies of Esterquytburne and Westirquitburne from David II. Two years later David de Carnys appears as a bailie of Edinburgh." 2

Early History of the Kairns family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kairns research. Another 271 words (19 lines of text) covering the years 1350, 1372, 1386, 1395, 1401, 1406, 1408, 1418, 1430, 1431, 1452, 1454, 1455, 1503, 1572, 1639, 1665, 1669, 1673, 1703, 1707, 1732, 1743 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Kairns History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kairns Spelling Variations

Spelling and translation were hardly exact sciences in Medieval Scotland. Sound, rather than any set of rules, was the basis for spellings, so one name was often spelled different ways even within a single document. Spelling variations are thus an extremely common occurrence in Medieval Scottish names. Kairns has been spelled Cairns, Cairn, Kairnes, Carnys and others.

Early Notables of the Kairns family

More information is included under the topic Early Kairns Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Kairns family to Ireland

Some of the Kairns family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 127 words (9 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Kairns migration to the United States +

Such hard times forced many to leave their homeland in search of opportunity across the Atlantic. Many of these families settled along the east coast of North America in communities that would become the backbones of the young nations of the United States and Canada. The ancestors of many of these families have rediscovered their roots in the 20th century through the establishment of Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations. Among them:

Kairns Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Samuel Kairns, who arrived in Mobile County, Ala in 1851 3

Kairns migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Kairns Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Ms. Kairns Margaret U.E. who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1784 4


  1. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  2. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  3. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  4. Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X


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