The Earldom of Carrick has been created several times in the Peerage of Scotland and once in the Peerage of Ireland.

In Scotland, the first creation came circa 1186, when Duncan of Galloway became Earl of Carrick. The principal lands of the Earldom lay in Ayrshire.

Duncan's granddaughter Margaret, who later held the title in her own right, married Robert de Bruce, who later became 6th Lord of Annandale. Their son, also named Robert and known as "Robert the Bruce", would later rule Scotland as King Robert I, causing the earldom to merge into the Crown. Robert also held the title of Lord Bruce of Annandale (1295). Thereafter, successive Kings of Scots re-created the Earldom several times, but made it non-heritable, specifying that the earldom would revert to the Crown upon the death of the holder. Thus several creations ended with a reversion to the crown or with the holder becoming King.

In 1469, the Scottish Parliament passed an Act declaring that the eldest son of the King and heir to the throne would hold the Earldom, along with the Dukedom of Rothesay. After the Union of the Crowns of Scotland and England, the Dukedom and Earldom have been held by the eldest son and heir of the Kings of England and Scotland, later the Kings of Great Britain, and finally the Kings of the United Kingdom. Compare the Duchy of Cornwall.

In 1628, James VI and I created the Earldom of "Carrick in Orkney" for John Stuart, but the title became extinct at his death.

King George II set up the Irish Earldom in 1748 for Somerset Butler. The Earl also holds the Irish subsidiary title of Viscount Ikerrin, of Ikerrin in the County of Tipperary (created 1629), and Baron Butler, of Mount Juliet in the County of Kilkenny (1748).

Earls of Carrick, First Creation (c. 1186)

• Duncan of Carrick, 1st Earl of Carrick (d. 1250)
• Neil of Carrick, 2nd Earl of Carrick (d. 1256)
• Marjorie of Carrick, 3rd Countess of Carrick (d. 1292)
• Robert de Bruce, 4th Earl of Carrick (1274-1329) (became King in 1306)

Earls of Carrick, Second Creation (c. 1314)

• Edward de Bruce, Earl of Carrick (d. 1318)

Earls of Carrick, Third Creation (1328)

• David de Bruce, Earl of Carrick (1324-1371) (became King David II of Scotland in 1329)

Earls of Carrick, Fourth Creation (c. 1330)

• Alexander de Bruce, Earl of Carrick (d. 1333)

Earls of Carrick, Fifth Creation (c. 1361)

• William de Cunynghame, Earl of Carrick (d. 1364)

Earls of Carrick, Sixth Creation (1368)

• John Stewart, Earl of Carrick (c. 1337-1406) (became King Robert II of Scotland in 1390)

Earls of Carrick, Seventh Creation (1390)

• David Stuart, Duke of Rothesay (1378-1402)

Earls of Carrick, Eighth Creation (1406)

• James Stuart, Duke of Rothesay (1394-1437) (became King James I of Scotland)

See Duke of Rothesay for further Earls of Carrick.

Earls of Carrick, Ninth Creation (1628)

• John Stewart, 1st Earl of Carrick (d. 1652)

Earls of Carrick, Tenth Creation (1748)

• Somerset Hamilton Butler, 1st Earl of Carrick (1719-1774)
• Henry Thomas Butler, 2nd Earl of Carrick (1746-1813)
• Somerset Richard Butler, 3rd Earl of Carrick (1779-1838), elected a Representative Peer in 1819
• Henry Thomas Butler, 4th Earl of Carrick (1834-1846)
• Somerset Arthur Butler, 5th Earl of Carrick (1835-1901)
• Charles Henry Somerset Butler, 6th Earl of Carrick (1851-1909)
• Charles Ernest Alfred French Somerset Butler, 7th Earl of Carrick (1873-1931)
• Theobald Walter Somerset Henry Butler, 8th Earl of Carrick (1903-1957)
• Brian Stuart Theobald Somerset Caher Butler, 9th Earl of Carrick (1931-1992)
• David James Theobald Somerset Butler, 10th Earl of Carrick (b. 1953)