Kincardineshire

Kincardineshire or the County of Kincardine, also known as the Mearns (from the Scottish GaelicA' Mhaoirne meaning "the stewartry"), is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area on the coast of north-east Scotland. It is bounded by Aberdeenshire on the north, and by Angus on the south-west.

The county was named after its original county town of Kincardine, near Fettercairn. The county town was changed to Stonehaven in 1600, by which time the town of Kincardine was in decline, and it was later abandoned. Other towns in the county include Banchory, Inverbervie and Laurencekirk.

The county stopped being used as an administrative area in 1975. Since 1996, most of the historic county lies within the Aberdeenshirecouncil area, with the exception of Nigg, which is in Aberdeen City. The name "Kincardine" is used in Kincardine and Mearns, a committee area of the Aberdeenshire Council, although this covers a smaller area than the county.