He had already been created Lord Boyle of Kelburn, Stewartoun, Cumbrae, Finnick, Largs and Dalry in 1699, and was made Lord Boyle of Stewartoun, Cumbraes, Fenwick, Largs and Dalry and Viscount Kelburn at the same time as he was granted the earldom.

The fourth Earl was in 1815 created Baron Ross, of Hawkhead in the County of Renfrew, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, a title which became extinct on the death of the sixth Earl in 1890.

The seventh Earl served as Governor of New Zealand from 1892 to 1897 and was created Baron Fairlie, of Fairlie in the County of Ayr, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, in 1897.

The family seat is Kelburn Castle in Ayrshire, Scotland.

The heir apparent is the present holder's son, David Michael Douglas Boyle, Viscount Kelburn (born 1978).