How can I find my family crest even though I have a really rare last name?

Question:People on this board can give you lots of links to so called family crest. But they would be dishonest if they did not tell you they do not know whether it is yours or if you are entitled to one.

To begin with, there is no such thing as a family crest.

A crest is part of a coat of arms. Coats of arms were originally the armour of a knight.
Then as time went by they were granted to noblemen. At first crest were something that was added to a coat of arms for some deed pleasing to the crown. Then later all coats of arms granted had crest. Then coats of arms were granted to men of prominence. They are passed solely from father to son. They don't belong to surnames.

I understand coats of arms granted to men who are knighted are not hereditary.

In the U. S. there are no laws regarding heraldry but in many countries a person would risk prosecution for displaying a coat of arms unless they had documented proof that it is theirs. There are companies that will sell you one solely on your surname. They are on the internet, at shopping malls,
at airports, and advertise in magazines.
People in the U. S. that display those tacky little walnut plaques are just displaying one that was granted to someone with their surname. That's all.

In many cases there might be several coats of arms belonging to persons with the same surname. The companies that sell them are not going to have all of them. They don't need to in order to sell one to gullible people

Please see the links below: One from the British college of arms and the other from the most prestigious genealogical organization in the United States, the National Genealogical Society.

http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/Faq.ht...

http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/comconsumerp...

Now if you do research and study your family history you might have more than one in your family tree. That doesn't mean you are entitled to any one of them. It just means direct ancestors were granted one at one time. Some of your distant cousins you don't even know might have them. Therefore if you put out a book on your family tree when you mention a particular many x great grandfather, you can put a picture of his coat of arms by his name. That is legitimate. You have a very good chance of having more than one coat of arms in your family tree if you have English ancestors in the early colonial days in the American South.

Actually, some in the South have the one their ancestor brought over from England 300-400 years ago. They don't display them. They can't pay their bills with them. They can't use them like a credit card. They don't put food on the table.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: People on this board can give you lots of links to so called family crest. But they would be dishonest if they did not tell you they do not know whether it is yours or if you are entitled to one.

To begin with, there is no such thing as a family crest.

A crest is part of a coat of arms. Coats of arms were originally the armour of a knight.
Then as time went by they were granted to noblemen. At first crest were something that was added to a coat of arms for some deed pleasing to the crown. Then later all coats of arms granted had crest. Then coats of arms were granted to men of prominence. They are passed solely from father to son. They don't belong to surnames.

I understand coats of arms granted to men who are knighted are not hereditary.

In the U. S. there are no laws regarding heraldry but in many countries a person would risk prosecution for displaying a coat of arms unless they had documented proof that it is theirs. There are companies that will sell you one solely on your surname. They are on the internet, at shopping malls,
at airports, and advertise in magazines.
People in the U. S. that display those tacky little walnut plaques are just displaying one that was granted to someone with their surname. That's all.

In many cases there might be several coats of arms belonging to persons with the same surname. The companies that sell them are not going to have all of them. They don't need to in order to sell one to gullible people

Please see the links below: One from the British college of arms and the other from the most prestigious genealogical organization in the United States, the National Genealogical Society.

http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/Faq.ht...

http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/comconsumerp...

Now if you do research and study your family history you might have more than one in your family tree. That doesn't mean you are entitled to any one of them. It just means direct ancestors were granted one at one time. Some of your distant cousins you don't even know might have them. Therefore if you put out a book on your family tree when you mention a particular many x great grandfather, you can put a picture of his coat of arms by his name. That is legitimate. You have a very good chance of having more than one coat of arms in your family tree if you have English ancestors in the early colonial days in the American South.

Actually, some in the South have the one their ancestor brought over from England 300-400 years ago. They don't display them. They can't pay their bills with them. They can't use them like a credit card. They don't put food on the table.

YOU CAN TRY TO GOOGLE IF THAT DOES NOT BRING YOU UP ANYTHING AND RELITIVES DO NOT KNOW WELL I WOULD AMKE UP MY OWN,

A really really rare last name can often be a indication that your last name is not what it was originally. IE, your gr grandfather might have spelled the name one way, and his descendants use another spelling. He would still be your ancestor, no matter what the spelling is now and neither is correct or incorrect. I have several of those in my research. Of course, the only way for you to be sure would be to find exactly who your ancestors really were.
Once you do know the original (IF that is the situation), you still would want to read the FAQ from the UK College of Arms, regarding the use of heraldry-
http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/Faq.ht...
Obviously, since you did not post what the surname is, it may be from another country. Or, more accurately, your ancestors might be from another country. I can only give you what is accurate concerning English names.
Many persons believe that families are entitled to use coats of arms/ family crests, but that simply is not how it works.

Despite the plethera of websites that will suggest otherwise, family crests and other heraldic symbols are granted to individuals and not to particular family names.

Almost anyone in the UK can apply for a coat of arms from the College of Arms (http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/) - design their own arms and submit their tree. Not many people bother because it's hugely expensive, but I believe Cliff Richard, Paul McCartney and Elton John all tried it, and now each has his own coat of arms, unique to them. No doubt other people in the future will then use these coat-of-arms as their own - which of course they are not - not legally anyway. Even each monarch has their own individual coat of arms, they are not unique to the family.

Most companies on the internet, like Scottish souviner shops who sell specific clan "tartans" and the like, are just in it to make money, and will sell you anything at all to put on your wall and purporting to be your own "family crest".

Any serious genealogist who saw it on your wall would do their best to be polite and not to laugh at your foolishness and wouldn't be impressed for a moment. http://www.houseofnames.com will probably sell you what you seek, rare surname or not - just be aware that what you are seeking has no basis in law at all, it's just a bit of fun.

If you want a real coat-of-arms then you'll have to get a proper designer to make it for you and go through the registration procedure. Even then, the College of Arms don't grant crests to just ANYBODY!!

There is no family coat-of-arms (a crest is part of some coat-of-arms). A coat of arms was granted to an INDIVIDUAL. Not his brothers or uncles (who likely had the same surname) nor to anyone else with that surname. Just to that person. In some countries, the grantee must explicitly pass this to one of his sons (he isn't required to), in other countries, descendants through a continuous MALE line have the right to display this coat of arms.

But there is no family coat of arms. There are surnames that have had many unrelated people with that name granted one, there are other surnames that nobody with that name was ever granted a coat of arms. But that's besides the point.

You can surely find on the internet places that will sell you a coat of arms that probably was granted to someone way back when who happened to have your surname. But unless you can show a direct MALE descendancy, it isn't yours. Of course it IS handsomely mounted on a simulated walnut plaque suitable for display in the finest of dens. Often comes with a colorful certificate describing accurately the history of YOUR surname.

If you're lucky, you won't find one that was granted to someone at some point way back when with your surname....it will save you money.

But if you do decide to get one, make sure you do so in the next 15 minutes so you can get the set of Ginsu knives and if your lucky, a Pocket Fisherman as an added bonus.

As some of the other bright people here already said there is no such thing as a family crest. A crest is part of a coat of arms. A coat of arms is granted to an individual or, in modern times, to an institution.
There is no family coat of arms.
However if you are of Irish descent the Standing Council of Irish Chiefs have decided that the ancient Brehon law still applies conderning coats of arms- clan members may use the clan arms. Each chief's personal arms are a variant on the clan arms, but if you were born with a surname that belongs to a certain clan you may display the clan coat of arms in your home.

If you are not lucky enough to be Irish and still want a coat of arms I suggest you read up on heraldry and design your own.