Baronage of Scotland in the context of Scots property law

Laird (/ˈlɛərd/) is a Scottish word for minor lord (or landlord) and is a designation that applies to an owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a baron and above a gentleman. This rank was held only by those holding official recognition in a territorial designation by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. They are usually styled [name] [surname] of [lairdship]. However, since "laird" is a courtesy title, it has no formal status in law.

Historically, the term bonnet laird was applied to rural, petty landowners, as they wore a bonnet like the non-landowning classes. Bonnet lairds filled a position in society below lairds and above husbandmen (farmers), similar to the yeomen of England.

Baron of Renfrew (Scottish Gaelic: Baran Rinn Friù) is a dignity in the Baronage of Scotland held by the heir apparent to the British throne, currently Prince William, Duke of Rothesay. It has been held by the Scottish heir apparent since 1404. It is closely associated with the title Duke of Rothesay. An act of the Scottish Parliament passed in 1469 confirmed the pattern of succession. Renfrew, a town near Glasgow, is sometimes called the "cradle of the royal Stewarts".

In Scotland, barons hold titles in the Baronage of Scotland, not peerages: a Scottish Lord of Parliament equates to an English or British baron. Some, however, claim that the Act of 1469 effectively elevated the Barony of Renfrew to the dignity of a peerage. Others suggest that the barony became a peerage upon the Union of the Crowns in 1603. Finally, some scholars argue that the uncertainty surrounding the text of the 1469 Act leaves the barony as only a baronage dignity, not a peerage dignity. The official position is given in Hansard (House of Lords – written answers) for 18 May 1999: "The Barony of Renfrew is not a peerage dignity at all; it is a feudal or minor barony of Scotland." Note that since the abolition of feudalism in 2004 these feudal titles became personal baronage titles.