The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139.

It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the end of the reign of Henry III and died in 1279.

Most of the Ferrers property and (by a creation in 1337) the Derby title were then held by the family of Henry III.

One of his descendants married an heiress whose marriage portion included Stoneley, Staffordshire – hence the name Stanley.

Sir Thomas Stanley served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and represented Lancashire in the House of Commons.

The title of Earl of Derby was conferred on him in 1485 by his stepson Henry VII after the Battle of Bosworth Field where Thomas decided to betray King Richard III.

The eldest son Ferdinando, the fifth Earl, was summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration in his father's junior title of Baron Strange in 1589.

He also built Leasowe Castle, probably as an observation platform for watching horse races on the nearby sands.

He was Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire and Cheshire and purchased from his nieces their claims in the Isle of Man.

He was succeeded in the barony of Strange, which could be passed on through female lines, by his first cousin once removed, James Murray, 2nd Duke of Atholl.

He held political office as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and also founded The Derby horse-race.

He represented Preston and Lancashire in the House of Commons and in 1832, two years before he succeeded his father, he was raised to the peerage in his own right as Baron Stanley, of Bickerstaffe in the County Palatine of Lancaster.

Lord Derby was also a natural historian and his zoological collections were founded Liverpool Museum.

He was also a patron of the arts, especially of the poet Edward Lear who wrote The Owl and the Pussycat for the Earl's children.

In 1844, he had a church built on the Knowsley Estate, St. Mary the Virgin, where several Stanleys found their final resting place.

Known as a great parliamentary orator, he sat as Member of Parliament for Stockbridge, a seat bought by his father, Windsor and Lancashire North.

In 1844 he was summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration in his father's junior title of Baron Stanley.

Lord Derby was married to Emma Wilbraham, daughter of Edward Bootle-Wilbraham, 1st Baron Skelmersdale.

His younger brother and successor, Frederick Arthur Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, was a Conservative politician and held office as Secretary of State for War, as Colonial Secretary and as President of the Board of Trade.

In 1886, seven years before succeeding his brother, he was raised to the peerage in his own right as Baron Stanley of Preston, in the County Palatine of Lancaster.

In 1892, he purchased and donated the Stanley Cup, to be awarded to the "championship hockey club of the Dominion of Canada" each year.

He was also Ambassador to France, and during this time followed his father's lead by donating the Lord Derby Cup, given each year to the winners of the French rugby league knockout competition.

As of 2017[update] the titles are held by his nephew Edward Richard William Stanley, 19th Earl of Derby.

Sir James Stanley, of Cross Hall, Lathom, younger brother of the second Earl of Derby.

Sir Edward Stanley's great-grandson, the fourth Baronet, represented Preston in Parliament.

He sent a small army into the Battle of Flodden, commanded by his alleged son Sir John Stanley who later entered the monastery of Westminster Abbey.

The Earl of Derby owns Knowsley Hall and Greenhalgh Castle; they were the Lords of Mann, i.e. of the Isle of Man from 1405 until 1594.

Also, Edward Stanley, 1st Baron Monteagle, was the younger son of the first Earl of Derby.

For further Baronets, see above For further Barons, see above There are further heirs to the barony of Stanley descended from the younger brothers of the first earl.