Dear Craig Tweedside or Berwick and Peebles is the oldest reference to the surname Laird in Scotland, and in conventional publications, the only reference to Lairds in Scotland. There are also a very large number of references going a long way back in Renfrewshire. Until now the presence of a large number of Lairds in Caithness and Orkney, sometimes spelt Leard or Leird has been ignored. To create further confusion, there are references to the Lairds in the South being of German origin, while in the North we are of Norse origin. What is certain is that where the Lairds are found in Caithness is very much in Sinclair country. The Clans and Septs and Tartans enjoyed a real revival in the 19th Century, and by this stage the numbers of Lairds in Caithness had begun to diminish. This is why I am inclined to believe that the Lairds in Caithness have been overlooked. I do not know exactly how long Lairds had been in the North, because church records (OPRs) do not start until about 1650. We keep looking. Yours aye Iain