The Kincaids are thought to have descended from the Galbraiths, Cummings, Grahams and the Earls of Lennox. The name is derived from the lands they had occupied on the border between Stirlingshire and East Dunbartonshire, between the River Kelvin and Glazert Water. These lands were granted to the Earls of Lennox, who passed them to the Galbraiths. They constructed Craigmaddie Castle, near Mugdock, and when the line ended in three daughters one took on the name of that land, Kincaid.
In 1296, the Laird of Kincaid was recognised for his role during the recapture of Edinburgh Castle from the troops of Edward I. He was made Constable of that castle, a position he held until 1314. In the late 16th C. the Kincaid's wealth increased, as did their landholdings. The estates of Craiglockhart and Bantaskin, Blackness Castle and the fields of Warriston all came into the possession of the family. The Kincaids were royalists and fought largely in Ireland, but the persecution after the loss of the civil war drove most of the clan to North America. At the end of the 18th C. the Kincaids married into the Lennox family, with whom they had a bitter feud in the 16th C.