Family Coat of Arms: Do I Have One? Meanings, Crests & Colors
The giant fire on the hearth crackles and burns as it casts dancing shadows across the stone floor and walls. Seated at the table, holding your leg of lamb in one hand and your goblet in the other, your eyes shift their gaze slowly upward from the flickers of the fire’s flame, up above the mantle and onto a large shield fixed on the wall in front of two crossed swords.
Upon the shield, you see the engravings of your armorial bearings, two lions pitched in combat in front of a large tree. You reflect upon the families that entrust you to protect them and their lands, and that for generations your family has been a banner of strength and protection to the people.
And then, your phone buzzes. You’ve just received a text. You’ve been daydreaming. You were taking just a minute to research your family’s coat of arms and got carried away in thoughts of history.
It happens to the best of us. Here’s what a coat of arms really is, whether your family has one, what the colors and symbols mean, and how to design your own.
What is a family coat of arms?
Older traditions indicate that the coat of arms was held by one individual within the family at a time and was passed on to the heir. The symbols would be chosen to refer to the owner’s life, location, family, or achievements. In today’s world, many people talk about a “family coat of arms” that goes with their family name.
In the past, though, the coat of arms was a personal marker. Other family members could use it by modifying the colors or adding small symbols. In England, younger sons added a little “cadency mark”: a crescent for the second son, a star for the third, and so on, so you could tell brothers apart. The motto would often relate specifically to the person for whom the arms were designed. It usually sits beneath the shield on English arms, and above the crest on Scottish arms.
Coat of arms vs. family crest: what’s the difference?
Often the terms “crest” and “coat of arms” are used interchangeably, yet a crest is not a coat of arms. A crest is the emblem that sits on top of the helmet (the oak tree in the picture above). So when a website offers you your “family crest,” it usually means the whole coat of arms.
If your family is Scottish, there is one perfectly legitimate way to wear a crest. Members of a Scottish clan may wear their clan chief’s crest as a badge, inside a strap-and-buckle circle with the chief’s motto. It shows that you belong to the clan, not that the crest is yours. The Court of the Lord Lyon, Scotland’s heraldic authority, explains the rules.
Does my family have a coat of arms?
The answer is probably yes and probably no. No in the sense that having an original family coat of arms specific to your surname and handed down from father to son is unlikely. Yes in the sense that you may find a family connection to a coat of arms, and, as described above, modify it to fit your family. It also depends a lot on where your ancestors came from:
- England and Wales: arms belong to a person, not a surname. You only have a right to them if you descend, through the male line, from someone who was granted arms.
- Scotland: the same is true, and arms are granted by the Lord Lyon. But clan members can wear the clan crest badge described above.
- Ireland: Irish tradition is a little looser. Arms associated with a clan or sept are often displayed by people of that name as a sign of kinship.
- Continental Europe: in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and elsewhere, arms were often shared by a whole family, including “burgher arms” used by ordinary townspeople and farmers. A German or Dutch family has a better chance of genuine family arms.
- The United States: there is no official heraldic authority, so anyone may adopt a coat of arms of their own (just don’t copy someone else’s).
One of the encouraging facts is that armorial bearings (doesn’t that just sound cool?) were often changed when passed on to other family members, so feel free to create your own from scratch. Include elements particular to your family history and pass them on.
How to find your family coat of arms
If you’d like to know whether an ancestor really bore arms, treat it like any other family history question and look for evidence:
- Look for clues at home. Arms turn up on signet rings, wax seals on old letters, bookplates inside old books, engraved silver, needlework, family Bibles and gravestones.
- Search the classic reference books, free online. Burke’s General Armory (1884) lists thousands of arms by surname for England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. For continental Europe, look for Rietstap’s Armorial Général. Remember, a listing under your surname isn’t proof that it’s yours. You still need to trace the family line back to the person who bore it.
- Check early American arms. The Committee on Heraldry of the New England Historic Genealogical Society publishes a Roll of Arms for colonial settlers and immigrants whose right to arms was proven.
- Ask the experts. The College of Arms in London (for England, Wales and Northern Ireland) and the Court of the Lord Lyon (for Scotland) keep the official records and can search them for you, usually for a fee.
A word about “your surname’s coat of arms” websites
Search for your last name plus “coat of arms” and you’ll find shops like House of Names and Coat of Arms Gifts (formerly 4Crests). They’ll show you a coat of arms that was once granted to someone with your surname, along with a short surname history, and happily put it on a mug, a plaque or a ring.
That can be fun as decoration, but caveat emptor. The arms may have belonged to a family that isn’t related to yours at all. I’ve found a couple of different armorial bearings for my own surname, so do your research before you have it engraved on anything.
Coat of arms colors and their meanings
Heraldry uses a short list of colors, called tinctures, with their own old French names. There are two metals and five colors:
The meanings are the traditional ones you’ll see quoted everywhere. They’re fun, but they’re not official: heralds choose colors for good looks and good contrast, not secret messages. What is official is the rule of tincture: never put a metal on a metal or a color on a color, so the design can be seen from across a battlefield (or a family reunion).
Coat of arms symbols and their meanings
The pictures on a shield are called charges. Here are a few of the most common, with the meanings traditionally given to them:
| Symbol | Traditional meaning |
|---|---|
| Lion | Courage and strength; the most popular animal in heraldry |
| Eagle | Strength and nobility; very common in German arms |
| Oak tree | Strength and endurance (and a good fit for a family tree) |
| Cross | Christian faith; often linked to the Crusades |
| Chevron | Protection; it’s said to look like the rafters of a house |
| Crescent | In England, the mark of a second son |
| Star (mullet) | In England, the mark of a third son |
| Fleur-de-lis | France and the Virgin Mary; in England, the mark of a sixth son |
Design your own coat of arms
Creating your own coat of arms is a great family project, and in the United States you’re free to adopt one. Try it here: pick the colors, a division and a symbol, and you’ll see your shield described in proper heraldic language, called the blazon.
BlazonAzure, a mullet Or
That’s a gold star (a mullet) on a blue field.
When you’re ready to make it look professional, these free tools are worth a try:
- DrawShield draws a shield from a blazon you type in (“Azure, a chevron between three mullets Or”), and it’s a wonderful way to learn the language of heraldry.
- Armoria is a free point-and-click coat of arms maker with hundreds of symbols. Hit the button and it’ll even suggest designs for you.
A few tips: keep it simple (the best arms can be recognized at a glance), follow the rule of tincture, and use symbols that tell your family’s story, such as a wheat sheaf for farmers, an anchor for sailors, or the flower of the state or country your family came from.
Making it official
If you want your arms recorded by a heraldic authority, these are the places to start:
- England, Wales and the Commonwealth: the College of Arms grants arms. Americans who descend from a British subject living in colonial America can apply for “honorary” arms.
- Scotland: the Court of the Lord Lyon.
- Canada: the Canadian Heraldic Authority grants arms to Canadians.
- Ireland: the Office of the Chief Herald has paused new applications for now.
- United States: there’s no official body, but members of the American Heraldry Society can display their arms on its Roll of Arms.
For more on the process, see our post How to Get a Family Coat of Arms.
Back to the castle
So the next time you find yourself daydreaming in front of that crackling fire, you’ll know what you’re looking at: the crest, the helm, the mantling and the shield. You’ll even know that two lions facing each other, ready to fight, are called combatant in heraldry. Whether your family’s arms are hundreds of years old or designed at the kitchen table this weekend, the best ones tell your family’s story.
Curious what your surname itself means? See What Does Your Name Mean?
Further reading: Coat of arms, Crest (heraldry) and Tincture (heraldry) on Wikipedia; The Heraldry Society.