A family crest is important to your coat of arms and family history. So what are family crests, how do I find my family’s crest and do all families have a crest? Family crests are a fascinating subject with a rich history. You’ll find out all you need to know about family crests and how you can find yours in this post.
A family crest is an element that crests the design, as shown in the photo below the crest sits on top of the coat of arms. If your family’s coat of arms is too complex you can often use just the family crest. This photo shows one of our handcrafted shields with the crest attached to the knight’s helmet.
The design of the crest can include a lion, tiger, horse or cross, but there are many others. Similarly, some crests include arrows or chains. For example, a lion represents deathless courage and hence the symbol of a true warrior. Something to share with friends down the pub when they question your character!
Sometimes the term family crest can refer to the overall design but specifically, it relates to the part on top of the coat of arms.
How can I find my family’s crest?
Discover your family crest, coat of arms and surname history using our search tool at the top of the page. Type in your surname in the box provided, in the band that runs under the main menu and click submit. We provide your family’s crests and surnames with German, Australian, Scottish, Italian, Spanish, Welsh, English, Canadian, and American origins.
Do all families have a family crest?
Firstly no, not all families have a crest on top of their coat of arms. Secondly, people with the same surname will often have a completely different coat of arms or sometimes no coat of arms at all. Please use our search tool to find out if you have a family crest with your coat of arms. Our family crest archive contains a wide variety of different symbols but if your search doesn’t reveal one for your surname please contact us so we can double check for you.
What does it mean if your family has a family crest?
You can tell a lot about your ancestry from your Coat of arms and family crest. They were originally intended to recognise family achievements and heritage, and the design can give insight into your family’s history and legacy. Subsequently, the history of your family name can be passed down through generations and tell you a lot about your ancestors.
Is there a difference between a coat of arms and a family crest?
A family crest can get confused with the coat of arms, so it’s good to know the difference, especially when researching your surname history. You’ll find the family crest is on top of the coat of arms and can include feathers, arrows, chains and lots more besides. Why not check out our free online dictionary, which tells you what the various symbols mean.
What do the colours on a family crest mean?
The colours within a design were intended to be visible from far away and highly recognisable and this informed which colours went together. Because of this simple background colours like red, blue, green, black, and purple go with metal colours, yellow for gold and white for silver.
Colours had meanings for each family:
Gold: generosity and elevation of the mind
Silver or white: peace and sincerity
Red: warrior or martyr, also military strength or magnanimity
Blue: truth and loyalty
Green: hope, joy, and loyalty in love
Black: constancy
Purple: royal majesty, sovereignty, and justice
Orange: ambition
Maroon: patient in battle and yet victorious
In addition to this, there were patterned backgrounds symbolic of animal fur. After that, the most prominent were ermine (in black and white) and squirrel (in blue and white), but other fur patterns were also common. In conclusion, you can see how the crest adorns your coat of arms and what meaning it gives to your surname history. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news and tips on the history of your surname and its meaning.
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There is a bird on the crest but I can’t tell if it is a sand martin or not. You can search your name in the search box and it will show you a picture. Best wishes, Wendy.
Yes, you’re right Julian. It was only scribes and church officials that could spell so they recorded names as they sounded. One person may have different spellings on different documents because of this.
Hello Marie, If you click on our product ‘coat of arms and surname history’ this gives a very detailed account of the Gallagher name and you’ll be able to see its earliest known coat of arms. We can print and send to you frames or unframed if you would like to order. Hope that helps.
Hello and thank you for your enquiry. I am sorry that we do not have this specific name on our system – Sometimes names can have a similar root, for example we do have Hook, and can alter the title at the top if that would help. Our research team do regularly update our records so it may be added to our database in the future.
I’m doing 4 branches of my family tree and I’m coming up with quiet a few family crests. How do I find out if they are correct and how they were given to my ancestors? Any assistance would be most grateful.
They will all be correct, just registered to different people at different times. We try to locate the oldest one on record. Hope this helps! Best wishes, Wendy.
Hello I am trying to get the coat of arms for my husband and his cousin since they are the last of their family in this country. I believe the remaining are in Italy
Interested in locating the Motley coat of arms and family Crest. It is my understanding the family origin is England… father and grandfather names both Blair… any suggestions on how to find this ?
Hello Beth, If you would like to type the name into the serach bar at the top of each of our website pages, it will show you a brief snippet of the name’s origins and its earliest coat of arms. We can print the full history of the name for you. It appears to have originated in Shropshire. Hope that helps!
Hi Lois, Indeed there is. If you use the family name search at the top of each page of our website, it will give you a snippet of the information plus show you what the earliest coat of arms looked like.
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Coat of arms and crest?
Hi Terry, the crest is at the top of the Coat of Arms, we do have the name Twigg. Best wishes, Wendy.
Hello!
Where can I send a picture of of theCrest/Coat of Arms to have it explained tome please?
Thank You!
Anna Schrock nee Harris/Yaeger/Borg
Hi – please send it to me at wendy@hallofnames.org.uk.
nubre3d@gmail.com I’m looking to see my family lineage
Hi Michael, we are not in the business of Genealogy but we do have the history of the name Brown. Best wishes, Wendy.
How can i go about o lok for my coat of arms or crest
You can search your name on our site in the name search box John.
My surname is priest my grandfather always said our family crest was a sand Martin however I can’t find anything to show that I’d love to know more
Hi Ellie
There is a bird on the crest but I can’t tell if it is a sand martin or not. You can search your name in the search box and it will show you a picture. Best wishes, Wendy.
Some times our sur names are translated in different forms for example my sur name Lemus may also go by Lemux and take on many other ancient forms
Yes, you’re right Julian. It was only scribes and church officials that could spell so they recorded names as they sounded. One person may have different spellings on different documents because of this.
My last name is Gallagher I know my grand parents are from Ireland mid 1800, how do I get more information on the history
Hello Marie, If you click on our product ‘coat of arms and surname history’ this gives a very detailed account of the Gallagher name and you’ll be able to see its earliest known coat of arms. We can print and send to you frames or unframed if you would like to order. Hope that helps.
Good evening
I’ve searched my last name, well what was my maiden name and it shows nothing. I wondered if there was a family crest. If not why not?
It was Hookway
Hello and thank you for your enquiry. I am sorry that we do not have this specific name on our system – Sometimes names can have a similar root, for example we do have Hook, and can alter the title at the top if that would help. Our research team do regularly update our records so it may be added to our database in the future.
My family crest is mostly red with a wolf’s head.
My ancestor was a cardinal to Henry VIII. He was later killed.
What does the wolf’s head mean?
Hello, we have a free online dictionary of symbols which will hopefully help:https://www.hallofnames.org.uk/heraldry-symbols-and-what-they-mean/
I’m doing 4 branches of my family tree and I’m coming up with quiet a few family crests. How do I find out if they are correct and how they were given to my ancestors? Any assistance would be most grateful.
Kind Regards
Hi Danielle
They will all be correct, just registered to different people at different times. We try to locate the oldest one on record. Hope this helps! Best wishes, Wendy.
Do I have a family crest
Hi David
Yes, we do have Briley. You can search for any names on the name search and you can see what it is. Best wishes, Wendy
Hello I am trying to get the coat of arms for my husband and his cousin since they are the last of their family in this country. I believe the remaining are in Italy
Hi. If it’s Cosenza then yes we do have this name. Best wishes, Wendy.
I’ve found multiple different crests for the last name Shaffer. Which one is the real crest?
They will all be real, just registered to different people at different times. We try to locate the oldest one on record. Hope this helps!
Interested in locating the Motley coat of arms and family Crest. It is my understanding the family origin is England… father and grandfather names both Blair… any suggestions on how to find this ?
Hello Beth, If you would like to type the name into the serach bar at the top of each of our website pages, it will show you a brief snippet of the name’s origins and its earliest coat of arms. We can print the full history of the name for you. It appears to have originated in Shropshire. Hope that helps!
Is there a coat of arms or family crest for the name CARSWELL ?
Hi Lois, Indeed there is. If you use the family name search at the top of each page of our website, it will give you a snippet of the information plus show you what the earliest coat of arms looked like.