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Question: Does everyone's last name have a coat of arms!? Who decided what they would look like!? Ancestors or who!?
how did coat of arms come about!? does everyone's last name have one!? who decided what they would look like or what they would signify!?Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
No, and the ones that do, do not belong to every one with that surname!. They were and are granted or assumed by individual men and only the direct legitimate male line descendants are entitled to them!. When a man is granted or assumed a coat of arms, usually each son will obtain one with some differences, but only the oldest son will inherit his father's upon his father's death!. What they signify depends upon the person themselves!.

In many cases more than one man with the same surname were granted a coat of arms, all different!. No one peddler who sells them on the internet, at shopping malls, in airports, in magazines or solicit by mail will have all of them!. They don't need to in order to sell to the gullible!.
The only time they will have all of them is if more than one man from different national origins were granted one!. Then they will have one of each and there might have been others!.

Now many people, even those of humble means, have them in their family tree!. That doesn't mean they are entitled to any one of them!. It just means that after doing research and finding various ancestors that were granted a coat of arms and if they have a book printed or even published on their family history, it is quite valid for them to put pictures of their ancestors' coats of arms in their book!. It wouldn't be valid, however, for them to put pictures of ones that just happened to be granted to persons with the same surnames as their ancestors!.

If a person is an American and they have any English lilnes going back to early colonial days in the American South, they have an excellent opportunity of finding more than one in their family tree!. The early Virginia settlers usually came from titled families!. There are some in the South that have the ones their ancestor brought over from England 300-400 years ago!. They aren't those little walnut plaques either!. As a rule, they don't display them!. Afterall they can't buy groceries with them and they don't help their 401k at all!.

For an American to legitimately have one 1!. they must have received it from their father who received it from his father and so on back down the line!. 2, Or if they are someone who has attained wealth and prominence, the College of Arms will grant them one for a price!. I understand they are not hereditary!. If those on Boston's Back Bay have them, that is how they got them!. 3!. They have designed their own and had it made up!. In that case, since we don't have a heraldry authority in this country, anybody can use their coat of arms!. However, that is no different than people buying walnut plaques, tshirts, coffee mugs, key chains with a coat of arms on them from a bucket shop and displaying it and claiming it as their own!. 4!. They have been knighted and those are not hereditary!.

I will furnish you with links to some countries regarding their coats of arms!. 1!. British College of Arms grants coat of arms 2!. regarding Irish heraldry 3!. regarding Scottish heraldry 4!. Italian heraldy!. 4, from the most prestigious genealogical organization in the U!.S!. The National Genealogical Society!.

If you have a school project, please print off the links and give them to your teacher and also print off what I have posted here and give to him/her!.

Not everyone with the same surname comes from the same root person!. Most people did not have a surname until the last millenium!. In England most had one by the end of the 14th century!. In the Netherlands, for instance, it wasn't until the reign of Napoleon!.

They were based on a)being the son of someone b)their occupation c)where they lived d) some characteristic about them!. When they got through it wasn't impossible for legitimate sons of the same man to have a different surname and still each could have shared their surname with others not related!. It was a couple of more centuries in many cases where the same surname was passed down to each generation!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

In a nutshell, if a coat of arms is issued to an individual, that individual may pass it down thru his male ancestors only!. It does not belong to everyone with that name!.

Thus, if your 6th Great Grandfather's brother was issued one you are not legally entitled to display it as you are not a direct descendent of him!. If your 6th Great Grandfather received it then his brother's descendents are not eligible to be included!.

Most of the commercial so-called family crests are just that - "so-called"!. They are money makers for those selling them!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

LAST NAMES: Your question assumes something false!. It is false to say that there are surname coats of arms!. Coats of arms are owned by individuals and are inherited by descendants!. So, there might be 200 people named "Smith" who adopted coats of arms in the past, and all are different designs!.

WHO DECIDES: Usually the original owner/creator of the coat of arms decides what they look like!. The most common type of arms are burgher arms, which are arms adopted by the middle class in Continental and Northern Europe!. Less common are arms granted by a government!.

Let's talk about "Smith" burgher arms!. If someone in 16th century Germany named Schmidt (an occupational surname meaning "blacksmith") wanted to have a sign and a mark for his family business, he could adopt a coat of arms and put in the design something that would remind his customers of his trade and locale, e!.g!., a hammer and a mountain!. One of his sons might inherit the shield unchanged and modify the crest (above the helm) to mark the start of a new business venture in another village!. Another unrelated "Schmidt" in Switzerland may have adopted a completely different design!. And so on, until there are literally 100's of Schmidt/Smith" coats of arms!.

Let's look at an 18th century Englishman, Mr!. Smith!. The government granted him arms for his use and for use by his descendants (because he was knighted, was a noble, or was wealthy enough to pay the government for a grant of arms)!. The College of Arms might come up with a design based on his achievements, or perhaps worked with Mr!. Smith to represent something about his occupation or life's philosophy!. He may adopt a design with a cross to represent his faith and a horse to represent his trade as a breeder!.

So you can see there are many Smith arms, perhaps running into the hundreds!. The designs can be based on anything, and the meaning of the design is determined by the armiger, or in the minority of cases the design is created in consultation with a government herald!.

DOES EVERYONE HAVE ONE!? No!. If you research your ancestry on the male side, you may hit paydirt!. But most likely you will not if your male-line ancestors are British!. You are more likely to be armigerous if your ancestors come from a country where arms can be freely assumed, like Sweden, Germany, or Switzerland!.

Americans can also adopt arms, and these are no less legitimate than those granted in the British Isles!. People who frown on adopting a coat of arms without the legal protection of a government authority are wrong!. Before there were heraldic authorities in Britain, people assumed arms, and people have all over Europe!. You just need to follow the heraldic rules, and for goodness sake, never buy a "surname family crest" from the internet!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

No not all names have a coat of arms, and even if you find a coat of arms for your surname it does not mean it is for your family, There are a lot of people making money out of this trade, it's a bit like selling a bit of the moon, it's all like a bubble seems to be there then woof all gone!.Www@QuestionHome@Com