[2] Traditionally the original ancestor of the Clan Cochrane in Scotland was a Scandinavian Viking who settled in what is now known as Renfrewshire,[4] between the eighth and tenth centuries.

[2] The three boar's heads adorning the chief's shield are said to represent the exploits of a warrior who killed three of the beasts who were terrorizing the countryside.

[2] Another traditional origin of the name Cochrane is that it comes from when an early member of the family fought in battle with such bravery that his leader singled him out from the others and clapped him on the shoulder calling him coch ran which means brave fellow.

[2] The first record of the name occurs in 1262, when a certain Waldeve de Coueran witnessed a charter concerning a transfer of lands between Dubhghall Mac Suibhne and Walter Stewart, Earl of Menteith.

[2] Goseline de Cochran appears as a witness to several grants made by Robert the Steward to Paisley Abbey in 1366.

Edward Cochrane was accused but cleared of having anything to do with the detention of King James III of Scotland at Edinburgh Castle in 1482.

[4] Throughout the war clansman Sir John Cochrane travelled extensively abroad as the king's representative.

[4] In October 1745 the seventh Earl of Dundonald had his horse shot from underneath him by Jacobites at the West Port, Edinburgh.