James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran

James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran and 2nd Lord Hamilton (c. 1475–1529) was a Scottish nobleman, naval commander and first cousin of James IV of Scotland.

He was the oldest of two son of James Hamilton, 1st Lord Hamilton, and his wife, Mary Stewart, Countess of Arran. Mary was a daughter of King James II of Scotland and his Queen consort Mary of Guelders, and was a sister of King James III of Scotland.

Hamilton succeeded to his father's lordship and inherited his lands when his father died in 1479. In 1489 his first cousin King James IV made him Sheriff of Lanark, a position his father had previously had, and a Scottish Privy Counsellor. By 28 April 1490 he was married to Elizabeth Home, daughter of Alexander Home, 2nd Lord Home.

Between April and August 1502, he commanded a naval fleet sent to help King Hans of Denmark, James IV's uncle, defeat a Swedish rebellion. He negotiated James's marriage to Margaret Tudor and was present at the wedding on 8 August 1503. On the same day Lord Hamilton was created Earl of Arran, with the formal grant three days later, "for his nearness of blood" and his services at the time of the marriage. He was appointed Lieutenant General of Scotland and in May 1504 commanded a naval expedition to suppress an uprising in the Western Isles.

In September 1507, James IV sent Hamilton as his ambassador on a diplomatic mission to the court of Louis XII of France. When returning in early 1508, he was briefly detained in the Kingdom of England by Henry VII, who was suspicious of a renewal of the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France.