Question Home

Position:Home>Genealogy> My last name is Godi and I'm having trouble finding a coat of arms for my na


Question:There is no such thing as a family crest. It is a part of the Coat of Arms. Coat of Arms were granted to INDIVIDUALS, not assigned to surnames. Just because someone of your last name MAY have been granted one at some point does not make it yours. Also, it may be that several men of the same surname were granted a coat of arms....each one different.....and maybe none of the men were related to each other. Likewise, it may be that NO ONE of your surname was ever granted one. In order for you to be able to claim any Coat of Arms you must be able to do the following:

1. research your family tree to see if you have any ancestors that were granted a Coat of Arms.

2. If you do have an ancestor who was granted one, then you can only claim it IF the following is true: The person who rightfully can claim a Coat of Arms that was granted to their ancestor is a male descendant who is the first born son, of the first born son, of the first born son, of the first born son, etc., all the way back to the person who was originally granted the Coat of Arms. If you do not fall in that line, then you cannot claim it. If you do fall in that line, then chances are you are already aware you have one.

The following is an excerpt from a book entitled "The Elements of Heraldry" published in 1866 by a learned scholar on the subject of heraldry. It seems that after the civil war heraldry began a small revival, but little was known by the generation of the time about the real science of the matter, so this scholar wrote a handbook for the average American interested in heraldry and family heritage...

Here's what he had to say:
". . . it is necessary to state, in the most explicit manner, that there is no such thing as a coat-of-arms belonging to the bearers of any particular surname."

He goes on to state:
"No one now supposes that all Browns or Joneses or Smiths or Robinsons trace their descent from one man. Still, it has been much more difficult to convince a Brown, Jones, Smith or Robinson, that he was not entitled to a coat-of-arms 'belonging to his name.' "

To use a Coat of Arms based on your last name is meaningless. It is about as accurate as buying a picture frame at the store that has a piece of paper in it showing an image of a child holding a flower and claiming that is actually a picture of your child.


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: There is no such thing as a family crest. It is a part of the Coat of Arms. Coat of Arms were granted to INDIVIDUALS, not assigned to surnames. Just because someone of your last name MAY have been granted one at some point does not make it yours. Also, it may be that several men of the same surname were granted a coat of arms....each one different.....and maybe none of the men were related to each other. Likewise, it may be that NO ONE of your surname was ever granted one. In order for you to be able to claim any Coat of Arms you must be able to do the following:

1. research your family tree to see if you have any ancestors that were granted a Coat of Arms.

2. If you do have an ancestor who was granted one, then you can only claim it IF the following is true: The person who rightfully can claim a Coat of Arms that was granted to their ancestor is a male descendant who is the first born son, of the first born son, of the first born son, of the first born son, etc., all the way back to the person who was originally granted the Coat of Arms. If you do not fall in that line, then you cannot claim it. If you do fall in that line, then chances are you are already aware you have one.

The following is an excerpt from a book entitled "The Elements of Heraldry" published in 1866 by a learned scholar on the subject of heraldry. It seems that after the civil war heraldry began a small revival, but little was known by the generation of the time about the real science of the matter, so this scholar wrote a handbook for the average American interested in heraldry and family heritage...

Here's what he had to say:
". . . it is necessary to state, in the most explicit manner, that there is no such thing as a coat-of-arms belonging to the bearers of any particular surname."

He goes on to state:
"No one now supposes that all Browns or Joneses or Smiths or Robinsons trace their descent from one man. Still, it has been much more difficult to convince a Brown, Jones, Smith or Robinson, that he was not entitled to a coat-of-arms 'belonging to his name.' "

To use a Coat of Arms based on your last name is meaningless. It is about as accurate as buying a picture frame at the store that has a piece of paper in it showing an image of a child holding a flower and claiming that is actually a picture of your child.

follow the following link
http://www.4crests.com/godi-family-crest...
BTW I found this by searching in Yahoo by typing "Godi family crest" including the quotation marks. Hope this helps

Yes. Why would you assume that every family has a crest?
you can find scam businesses online that sell them, but they concentrate on common names (so they can sell more).
Coats of arms are issued to individuals, not to families.
Please, don't waste your energy.