Earl Scots or , Cornish . An earl has the title "Earl of [X]" when the title originates from a placename, or "Earl [X]" when the title comes from a surname. In either case, he is referred to as "Lord [X]", and his wife as "Lady [X]". A countess who holds an earldom in her own right also uses "Lady [X]", but her husband does not have a title (unless he has one in his own right). The eldest son of an earl, though not himself a peer, is entitled to use a courtesy title, usually the highest of his father's
Earl of Ruglen Earl of Ruglen Earl of Ruglen was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. Along with the subsidiary titles Viscount of Riccartoun and Lord Hillhouse, it was created on the 14th of April, 1697, for Lord John Douglas-Hamilton, fourth (third surviving) son of William Douglas-Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton, 1st Earl of Selkirk, and his wife Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton. The 1st Earl of Ruglen succeeded as 3rd Earl of Selkirk on the death of his elder brother in 1739. The Earl's only son William, Lord Daer, died in 1742, so on the death of the Earl of Selkirk