There are many variations of the name including Kerr, Ker, Carr and Carre. These all have links to the Norse ‘Kjrr’ meaning ‘marsh dweller’ and the Gaelic ‘Caer’ meaning ‘fortress’. The Gaelic ‘Ciar’ meaning ‘dusky’ is also a possibility.
The founders of the clan were two brothers, Ralph and John who were of Anglo-Norman background, moving from Lancashire to Roxburgh about 1330. Disputes caused the clan to break into two branches. These were to be known as the Kerrs of Ferniehurst and the Kerrs of Cessford. The two branches were reunited in 1631, when William Kerr of Ferniehurst was married to the heiress of Cessford.
The Kerrs of Cessford acquired the charter to the Barony of Old Roxburgh in 1451 and became Warden of the Marshes in 1457. Mark Kerr became the first Earl of Lothian in 1606; however the male line ended with the death of his son in 1624. Further titles were bestowed on the family during this century as well as the two branches of the family being reunited.
The family supported the union of Scotland with England in 1707 and as a result the Roxburgh title was raised to a dukedom. In 1805 the dukedom passed to the Chief of the Innes clan through marriage, but he took the name Innes-Kerr.
Ferniehurst Castle still belongs to the chiefs, although the seat of the chiefs stands at the great mansion house of Monteviot. The chief of the Clan Kerr is the Marquess of Lothian and the Duke of Roxburgh is the Chief of the Innes.
