Cunninghame

Cunninghame is a former comital district of Scotland and also a district of the Strathclyde Region from 1975 to 1996. Historic Cunninghame The origin of the name (along with the surname Cunningham) is uncertain. The ending is from Old English ('home, village'). The first component may be either Old English , ('king') or Gaelic ('rabbit'). Irvine, a former capital of Scotland, was the capital of Cunninghame, indicating its status as a royal burgh. The family crest includes the unicorn, which is restricted to the Crown, and Clans Cunningham, Oliphant, and Ramsay. The historic district of Cunninghame was bordered by the districts of Renfrew and Clydesdale to the north and east respectively, by the district of Kyle to the south over the River Irvine and by the Firth of Clyde to the west. Cunninghame became one of the three districts or bailieries of Ayrshire, the shire or sheriffdom of Ayr. Cunninghame was in the north, along the River Irvine; Kyle was in the centre, along the River Ayr; and Carrick was in the south, along the River Doon. By the eighteenth century Ayrshire had become one of the counties of Scotland, with the three bailieries being described as "districts" or "divisions" of the county, although they had no formal administrative existence.