The Hamiltons have been a significant family in lowland Scotland since the 13th C. Probably descended from a Norman knight, Walter Fitz Gilbert who came from Hambledon in Northumberland and was given lands in Renfrewshire, the Lothians and the Barony of Cadzow in South Lanarkshire by Robert the Bruce (1274 - 1329). King James II (1430 - 1460) permitted Cadzow to be renamed Hamilton. The family includes the Dukes of Hamilton and Abercorn and the Earls of Arran and Haddington, together with numerous baronies and baronetcies.