Our family comes from Caithness and originally Western Norway. There used to be a large number of Lairds in the John O’Groats and Duncansby area and the island of Stroma, in Watten and Wick (Hempriggs House), and Lairds were also found in Orkney. I am not sure what connection if any there is with the better documented Lairds of Berwick and Peebles starting in the 13th Century.

Origins of the Surname Laird
Biographies of family members from 1820 to 1926 including Laing, Leith and Crockart.
Ancestry Research in Paisley, Renfrewshire and Glasgow
Caithness connections
Laird Family at John O'Groats, Duncansby, Freswick and Stroma
The Laird Arms investigation
Investigation of Laird origins per W T Laird's 1888 Letter
International Genealogical Index (IGI) for Lairds in Caithness
Census sources
Lairds, Laings and Leiths in Prince Charles Edward Stuart's Army 1745-46