Ranks of nobility....who "outranks" who?

Of the ones you listed, it goes (from highest to lowest):

Duke

Earl/Count (the same thing)

Baron

Out of all the titles it goes:

King & Queen

Prince & Princess

Duke & Duchess

Marquess & Marchioness & Marquis & Marquise

Count/Earl & Countess

Viscount & Viscountess

Baron & Baroness

I'm not really sure what you mean by the differences, so I'll give you a website that is really great and will hopefully give you your answer.

Peers are of five ranks: Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount and Baron (in descending order of hierarchy). In Scotland, the fifth rank is called a Lord of Parliament, as Barons are holders of feudal dignities, not peers. Baronets, while holders of hereditary titles, are not peers.

"Duke" comes from the Latin dux, leader.

"Marquess" comes from the French marquis, which is a derivative of marche or march. This is a reference to the English borders ("marches") with Wales and Scotland, a relationship more evident in the feminine form: Marchioness.

"Earl" comes from the Old English or Anglo-Saxon eorl, a military leader. The meaning may have been affected by the Old Norse jarl, meaning free-born warrior or nobleman, during the Danelaw, thus giving rise to the modern sense. Since there was no feminine Old English or Old Norse equivalent for the term, "Countess" is used (an Earl is analogous to the Continental count), from the Latin comes.

"Viscount" comes from the Latin vicecomes, vice-count.

"Baron" comes from the Old Germanic baro, freeman.

The various titles are in the form of (Rank) (Name of Title) or (Rank) of (Name of Title). The name of the title can either be a place name or a surname. The precise usage depends on the rank of the peerage and on certain other general considerations. Dukes always use of. Marquesses and Earls whose titles are based on place names normally use of, while those whose titles are based on surnames normally do not. Viscounts, Barons and Lords of Parliament do not use of. However, there are several exceptions to the rule. For instance, Scottish vicecomital titles theoretically include of, though in practice it is usually dropped. (Thus, the "Viscount of Falkland" is commonly known as the "Viscount Falkland".)

A territorial designation is often added to the main peerage title, especially in the case of Barons and Viscounts: for instance, Baroness Thatcher, of Kesteven in the County of Lincolnshire or Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, of Hindhead in the County of Surrey. Any designation after the comma does not form a part of the main title. Territorial designations in titles are not updated with local government reforms, but new creations do take them into account. Thus there is a Baron Knollys, of Caversham in the County of Oxford (created in 1902), and a Baroness Pitkeathley, of Caversham in the Royal County of Berkshire (created in 1997).

It was once the case that a peer administered the place associated with his title, but this has not been true since the Middle Ages. The only remaining peerages with associated lands controlled by the holder are the Duchy of Cornwall, which is associated with the Dukedom of Cornwall, held by the eldest son and heir to the Sovereign, and the Duchy of Lancaster, which is associated with the Dukedom of Lancaster, held by the Sovereign.

A knight (referred to as Sir) ranks above common folk.

a Dame is the female equivalent of a Knight. There are also 24 'Knights of the order', which rank above all other Knights and Dames

Someone who is referred to as 'lord' or 'Lady' is a Peer. there are 5 ranks of peers, listed below.

Duke (or duchess) <----------Highest

Marquess

Earl

Viscount (or count)

Baron (or Baroness)<----------Lowest

The difference is simply that any peer can boss around anyone lower than themselves, but must obey anyone above themselves. A Duke is only answerable to royalty. The prominent Dukeships (referred to as a 'duchy') are those of Northumberland, Somerset, and Suffolk. Throughout History, the holders of these three titles tend to be very powerful and influential, and more often than not hold senior positions in Government.

All of the peers rank above Knights and Dames, but below Royalty such as Princes, Princesses and the Monarch.

There is also another title, known as a Bronet, which ranks above Knights but below peers. Holders of these title have rarely gone on to do anything siginificant.

SHORT ANSWER

Dukes outrank Earls. During the reign of Henry the 8th he only created three Dukedoms.

(1) He restored the title of the Duke of Norfolk to the son of the man who died fighting against his father 30 years earlier. His name was Thomas Howard, and he was replaced by his son with the same name ten years later. His grandson would be executed by Elizabeth I and then the title would not be restored for a century.

(2) The Duke of Suffolk went to his brother in-law, Charles Brandon who died two years before Henry the 8th. He was succeeded by his twin sons. The older one died as a child giving the title to his younger twin brother who died an hour later.

(3) Henry Fitzroy (the illegitimate son of Henry 8th) was created Duke of Richmond and Somerset as a toddler , unfotunately he died as young teen without children.

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LONG ANSWER

To add to the previous answer :

"Earl" Old English and "Baron" comes from the Old German. They are the older titles which go back to the Anglo Saxon ancestry. It was not considered necessary to have a title for the wife of an Earl a thousand years ago (just as their is not title for the wife of a general or an admiral). At a much later date, the wife of an earl became a "countess" which is a continental title since "Earls" were considered the same as "Counts".

Although William the conqueror was the "Duke of Normandy" the title of "Duke" was introduced into the English peerage for 300 years after the conquest. Edward of Windsor shortly before the "black death" of the 14th century created the first English dukedome for his oldest son, the "Black Prince". He gave the title secondly to a loyal general who also established the "order of the garter" . When that general died he gave it to his second son and an additional title to his third son. The original Dukes were Gloucestor, Lancaster, and Clarence. Many people have both a dukedome and an earldom. Since 1901 the title has only been given to immediate members of the royal family. It is now considered the highest title in the United Kingdom.

"Marquess" and "Viscount" are titles seldom given. There has never been a "Grand Duke" in Britain.

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For 2.5 centuries the Dukes had their lines die out or their titles were forfeit because of a disagreement with the king or the replacement by a new king. During the Battle of Bosworth field when the Tudors took over in 1485 the last Duke was killed in battle along with the last English king to die in battle. Henry the 7th and 8th and Edward created several dukedomes, but they all died out or were executed by the time Elizabeth I came to the throne. The only exception was the young Duke of Norfolk and he tried to marry Mary Queen of Scots and overthrow Elizabeth. She had him executed and never created a single Duke in her reign. She not only didn't want a husband telling her what to do, she didn't want any Dukes around either.

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The present group of Dukes (roughly 26 different men, but some with more than one title), have all their dukedoms dated back to the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. By this time the title was less of a military title, and more of a landed gentry title. However, since the Duke of Norfolk and the Duke of Somerset were given to 4th generation descendants in the same family as the last title holders who had been executed under the Tudors, they are considered the oldest Dukedoms in the country.They did not restart the numbering, and are now up to #18 and #19 respectively. Most of them are fairly wealthy based on land holdings that were established hundreds of years ago.

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The practice of awarding hereditary peerage titles to non-royals has almost completely ceased since 1964. One exception was the former British prime minister Harold Macmillan who was made an Earl at the age of 90 and has since passed on the title to his son. However his term as PM ended in 1963. The only "royal" titles for life have been the "Duke of York" created for Prince Andrew in 1986 when he was married, and "Earl of Wessex" created for Prince Edward when he married.

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Although the UK is not interested in abolishing the centuries old peerage system, they have taken away much of their political power, and they are not interested in creating any new hereditary peers. The existing dukes place a high priority on having a son so that the title doesn't go extinct. The UK government prefers to award knighthoods, and the titles of "Baron for life" that cannot be passed on to their children.

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I think that there are only a few dukedoms that can be passed on to daughters. Usually that is only if there are no sons at all.

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You can access this information quite easily on Wikipedia.

And, since you have made it clear that you are looking at British aristocracy...I will only mention in passing that some titles out rank in one country, where they are outranked in others.

King/Queen

prince/princess

Duke/duchess

from there it can vary.

Mooserider2

Chuck Norris

Santa Clause

The Queen of England

The Tooth Fairy

That's a good observation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_and_noble_ranks

It really depends on the nation but with the British Royal Family, this how it goes in order from highest rank to lowest.

Emperor & Empress

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King & Queen

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Archduke & Archduchess

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Grand Duke & Grand Duchess

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Prince & Princess

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Infante & Infanta

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Duke & Duchess

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Marquess & Marchioness

Marquis & Marquise

Margrave & Margravine

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Count/Earl & Countess

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Viscount & Viscountess