The title of Earl Cairns was created in 1878 for Hugh Cairns, 1st Baron Cairns, the Lord Chancellor.

Lord Cairns bears the subsidiary titles of Viscount Garmoyle (1878) and Baron Cairns, of Garmoyle in the County of Antrim (1867).

Earls Cairns (1878)

• Hugh McCalmont Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns (1819-1885)
• Arthur William Cairns, 2nd Earl Cairns (1861-1890)
• Herbert John Cairns, 3rd Earl Cairns (1863-1905)
• Wilfred Dallas Cairns, 4th Earl Cairns (1865-1946)
• David Charles Cairns, 5th Earl Cairns (1909-1989)
• Simon Dallas Cairns, 6th Earl Cairns (b. 1939)