The title of Earl of Sunderland was created in the Peerage of England in 1643. In 1733, the 5th Earl succeeded to the title of Duke of Marlborough, with which title the earldom has ever since been merged, and generally used as a courtesy title for the heir apparent to the heir apparent of the Dukedom. The Earls bore the subsidiary title of Baron Spencer (1603).

The title had also briefly existed in a previous creation for the Lord Scrope of Bolton in 1627, but became extinct upon the 1st Earl's death three years later.

Earls of Sunderland, first creation (1627)

• Emanuel Scrope, 1st Earl of Sunderland (d.1630)

Barons Spencer (1603)

• Robert Spencer, 1st Baron Spencer (1570-1627)
• William Spencer, 2nd Baron Spencer (1592-1636)
• Henry Spencer, 3rd Baron Spencer (1620-1643) (became Earl of Sunderland in 1643)

Earls of Sunderland, second creation (1643)

• Henry Spencer, 1st Earl of Sunderland (1620-1643)
• Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland (1640-1702)
• Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland (1675-1722)
• Robert Spencer, 4th Earl of Sunderland (1701-1729)
• Charles Spencer, 5th Earl of Sunderland (1706-1758), became Duke of Marlborough in 1733