Does your family have a coat of arms?
If it does, you may be surprised to find that its not the one that you think it might be.

Down through history there have been coats of arms that were used as ornamentation,and the simple fact is that today not many of us are really aware of what they mean, whether the design we are seeing is an accurate rendition of the real design, or whether we even have the right to use the coat of arms.
About the end of the 18th century, the crest that showed on the helmet was erroneously called a family crest by many, and that error went a step further and was dubbed the synonym for the coat of arms.

There are multiple companies out there willing to sell you the “family” crest or coat of arms for your family on various and sundry types of merchandise, among them, coffee mugs, tee shirts, tea cups, beer steins, or “handsome hardwood plaques suitable for your den”.

My own family name, Drake, has a wide array of such merchandise that will cost you the earth if you buy it all and be worth just about nothing, since the famous Drake surname that it offers the coat of arms for, is not the one that legitimately can be used by my husbands family.

Granted, the companies are in good faith researching the family names and crests but what they do not say is that you probably do not have the right to use the coat of arms that they are offering and that in some cases, its not even the correct coat of arms.
The advertisements are misleading as well as greatly incorrect in many instances.

There are a few exceptions of course, primarily from Europe, however there is no such animal for the most part as a coat of arms being linked to one particular name. The coat of arms was by and large given to individuals and it did change, sometimes being intermingled with another as familes intermarried. It was not for the most part granted to the family.
A coat of arms is a property, and can be used only (and of course there are exceptions) buy the direct male descendant of the person to whom it was originally given.

To be granted that coat of arms you must make a request from the country where the arms were granted and to the correct authority.
The company who offers you a coat of arms bearing the name Drake, and tells you that its yours is assuredly not certain that it is, or whether you have the right to use it.

Only a genealogical researcher, or your own accurate historical research, with all of your ancestors documented can tell you that you, or your son has the right to use the coat of arms of a certain family, or to apply to use them.

If you are interested in learning if there was a coat of arms that has been given to an ancestor of yours, then the best way to go about that is to get in touch with the College of Arms or other recording office for the country of your heritage, and ask them to search their records based upon your genealogy research.

As a side note, there are many countries now who will permit tht you can design and register your own coat of arms so that the design actually holds some meaning to you and the family.

Tags:  coat of arms family coat of arms family crests heraldry