A name with a number of possible points of origin that include from ‘Covernan’, the name of a fierce Norse raider who settled in Scotland in the ninth century, ‘Cochrane’ features prominently in the nation’s frequently turbulent historical record.
Particularly identified with Renfrewshire, the family prospered over the centuries, accruing high honours and distinction along the way.
Sir John Cochrane served as a colonel in the army of the ill-fated Charles 1, while in 1699 Sir William Cochrane, Lord Cochrane of Ochiltree, was elevated to the peerage as Earl of Dundonald.
It was during the reign from 1406 to 1437 of James 1, that Robert Cochrane, later 10th Earl of Dundonald, was employed by the monarch to design and erect a number of royal edifices, while on the high seas Thomas Cochrane was the daring Royal Naval commander who invented the use of the smokescreen to conceal vessels from the enemy.
