This ancient name is derived from Erskine in Renfrewshire, and Henry de Erskine owned the Barony of Erskine in the early 13th century. The family were loyal adherents of Robert the Bruce, to whom they were related by marriage. Sir Robert de Erskine was Great Chamberlain of Scotland, was ambassador to England and France, and occupied many important national positions. With King David II he exchanged Strathgartney for lands of Alloa. He died in 1385.

Sir Robert Erskine assumed the title of Earl of Mar in 1435, but his son, Sir Thomas, was dispossessed of it in 1457, and in 1467 he was created lord Erskine. John, 4th Lord Erskine, a had charge of the infant Mary Queen of Scots in Stirling Castle, Inchmahome, and then conveyed her to France. He died in 1552. His daughter was mother of Regent Murray. His son, Alexander, was ancestor of the Earls of Kellie. John, 5th Lord Erskine, was confirmed in the Earldom of Mar. He died in 1572. In 1715 the Earldom of Mar was forfeited when John, 11th Earl, formed a party as leader in the Jacobite Rising.

The Erskines of Dun descended from the Erskines of Erskine when Sir Thomas received a charter of the Barony of Dun from King Robert II in 1376. Many of the family of Dun fell at Flodden, and after several generations the estate of Dun passed to the Marquis of Ailsa in 1793. His second son John inheriting the property assumed the name Erskine.

The Erskines of Alva, descended from the House of Mar, are now represented by the Earls of Rosslyn.

James Erskine, son of the 7th Earl of Mar, acquired the Earldom of Buchan by his marriage to the Countess of Buchan. Thomas, Lord Erskine, third son of the 10th Earl of Buchan, born in 1750, was called to the Bar in 1788. He earned for himself the reputation of being the greatest legal orator of his time and became Lord Chancellor in 1806.

Crest: A dexter arm couped at the elbow, and erect, grasping a club