Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as a coat of arms for a surname. Arms are granted to one person and pass to that person’s descendants, traditionally in the male line, so two people with the same surname may be entitled to completely different arms, or to none at all. What is usually sold as a “family coat of arms” is a design once recorded for one particular family of that name.
That may sound disappointing, but the real story is more interesting than the myth, and it still leaves plenty for anyone curious about the heraldry connected with their name.
What the heraldic authorities say
The College of Arms in London, whose heralds were first incorporated by royal charter in 1484 and who grant arms under authority delegated by the Crown, answers the question directly:
“There is no such thing as a ‘coat of arms for a surname’. […] But a coat of arms is granted or confirmed to one person and their descendants in the legitimate male line so only that family group will be entitled to the coat of arms, not everybody of that surname. As such many people of the same surname will often be entitled to completely different coats of arms, and many others of that surname will be entitled to no coat of arms at all.”
Scotland’s heraldic authority, the Court of the Lord Lyon, goes further. Its guidance says there is no such thing in Scotland as a “family coat of arms”, because a personal coat of arms can only be borne by one person at a time; even the heir has to bear it with a sign of difference. It adds, just as plainly: “A clan cannot have a coat of arms.”
So where do “family crests” come from?
The confusion has an understandable source. For centuries, the great printed reference books on heraldry, called armorials, have been arranged alphabetically by surname. Sir Bernard Burke’s General Armory of 1884, for example, describes some 60,000 coats of arms, drawn from the heralds’ county visitations, county histories and earlier heraldic writers. Look up a name and you will often find several entries.
Take one page of Burke. Under the name Washington, he lists seven entries with five different designs:
- Silver with two red bars and three red stars above (the Washingtons of Sulgrave and their American descendants, including George Washington’s line)
- Green with a silver lion rampant inside a border of gold and blue (a Yorkshire family)
- Silver with a red horizontal band bearing three silver stars
- Red with a silver band bearing three pierced red stars
- Red with two silver bars and three silver martlets above
Which of these is “the Washington coat of arms”? None of them, in the sense of belonging to everyone named Washington. Each belonged to a particular family.
Books like these made name-based designs easy to reproduce. The 1905 edition of Fairbairn’s Book of Crests, first published in 1859, described itself as the standard reference “for business and trade purposes”, used by jewelers and engravers. Its own publishers admitted they could “give no guarantee of the official accuracy on the point of rightful inheritance.” Choosing one entry from a book and selling it as “your family’s” is an easy step from there. The design may be perfectly real; the claim attached to it is not.
How arms really pass down
Arms are a kind of inherited property governed by the laws of arms. In England, according to the College of Arms, a right to arms comes either from a grant to yourself or from descent “in the legitimate male line” from someone to whom arms were granted or confirmed in the past.
- Sons and daughters both inherit. The College says a woman can bear arms by inheritance or by grant. Women traditionally do not bear crests, and a daughter with no surviving brothers (or none with surviving children), called a heraldic heiress, passes her father’s arms to her children as a quartering, a section of their shield.
- A wider family can be included. A new grant can sometimes be extended to all the descendants of the petitioner’s father or grandfather.
- Scotland is stricter. Only one person bears the undifferenced arms at a time. Other descendants who wish to use them petition for a matriculation, which records their place in the family.
Surnames, meanwhile, have spread through marriage, adoption, migration, spelling changes and simple coincidence. Many unrelated families arrived at the same name independently. That is why a shared surname, on its own, says nothing about a shared right to arms. If you are curious about how your own name began, our guide on how to trace your surname’s origin is a good place to start.
What you can legitimately have
1. The history of the arms recorded for your name
There is nothing wrong with being interested in the arms recorded for people who shared your name, as long as they are presented as history. “The Washingtons of Sulgrave bore silver with two red bars and three red stars” is a true historical statement. “This is the Washington family coat of arms” is not. Treated as history, these records can tell you where a family of your name held land, when it was recognized and what it chose to say about itself.
2. A proven right by descent
If you believe you descend from an armigerous family (one entitled to arms), you can try to prove it. The College of Arms suggests contacting its officer in waiting with details of your paternal ancestry; a fee-based search of the official records will show whether any family of your name has been recorded and whether a connection might be traced. The Court of the Lord Lyon keeps the equivalent register for Scotland, the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings, established by an Act of 1672.
3. A new grant of arms of your own
- England, Wales, Northern Ireland and many Commonwealth realms: the College of Arms. It can also grant honorary arms to US citizens who show descent from a subject of the British Crown, which can include an ancestor who lived in the American colonies before 1783. From January 1, 2026, the College lists a fee of £9,600 for a personal grant of arms and crest.
- Scotland: the Lord Lyon grants arms to people living in, or owning a house or land in, Scotland. If you live elsewhere, Lyon’s guidance says you may be able to apply for arms to be granted in the name of a Scottish ancestor, if you can prove your descent.
- Ireland: the Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland, part of the National Library of Ireland since 1943. At the time of writing, its website states that it is not accepting new applications for grants or confirmations of arms.
- Canada: the Canadian Heraldic Authority, created in 1988, serves Canadian citizens and organizations. Its website also currently says it is not accepting new applications.
4. If you are American
The United States has no authority that grants personal arms. As Charles Knowles Bolton wrote in the introduction to Bolton’s American Armory (1927), “Here we have no arbiter in such matters.” He recorded arms that had been in use in America since colonial times, but warned readers that if their chief interest was in “authentic” arms or the right to bear them, they “must look elsewhere”. Our article can anyone have a coat of arms? looks at the options in more detail.
A note on Scottish and Irish names
If your name is Scottish, what you are most likely to see is a clan crest badge: the chief’s crest inside a strap and buckle. Clan members may properly wear it, but it belongs to the chief and is not a personal coat of arms. We explain the difference in coat of arms vs. family crest vs. clan badge.
Irish heraldry has its own long-running debate about arms associated with Gaelic septs, which we cover in our guide to Irish family crests.
How Lineage & Heritage approaches it
We take the same honest line as the heralds. Our books are compiled from public records for your surname, and arms recorded for people of that name belong to its history: who carried the name, where and when. They are not a claim that those arms are yours to bear today. We think the true story of a name, with its places, people and records, is far more rewarding than a borrowed badge.
See the arms recorded for your surname →
Sources
- College of Arms, “FAQs: heraldry”. https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/resources/faqs
- College of Arms, “Proving a right to arms”. https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/services/proving-a-right-to-arms
- College of Arms, “Granting of Arms” (eligibility, honorary arms, fees). https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/services/granting-arms
- Court of the Lord Lyon, “Frequently Asked Questions”. https://www.courtofthelordlyon.scot/faqs.htm
- National Library of Ireland, “Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland”. https://www.nli.ie/office-chief-herald
- Governor General of Canada, “Grant of arms, flags and badges” (Canadian Heraldic Authority). https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/grant-of-arms-flags-and-badges
- Sir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales (London, 1884), preface and p. 1080 (Washington). Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/generalarmoryofe00burk
- Fairbairn’s Book of Crests of the Families of Great Britain and Ireland, 4th edition (London, 1905), vol. 1, publishers’ preface. Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/fairbairnsbookof01fair
- Charles Knowles Bolton, Bolton’s American Armory (Boston, 1927), introduction. Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/boltonsamericana0000char
Frequently asked questions
Is there a coat of arms for my last name?
Not in the sense most people mean. The College of Arms states that there is no such thing as a coat of arms for a surname: arms belong to the person they were granted to and that person’s descendants. There may, however, be arms recorded for one or more historical families of your name, which are a genuine part of its history.
Can I use a coat of arms I found online for my surname?
The Court of the Lord Lyon warns that most coat-of-arms information offered online for particular names is inauthentic, and that a design bought from a heraldic shop is simply a souvenir. Displaying it as history is one thing; presenting it as your own arms is another, and in Scotland the misuse of registered arms can lead to prosecution.
How do I find out if my family really has a coat of arms?
You would need to prove descent from someone to whom arms were granted or confirmed. The College of Arms suggests starting by contacting its officer in waiting with details of your paternal ancestry, after which a fee-based search of the official records can be made. The Court of the Lord Lyon keeps the equivalent register for Scotland.
Can an American get a coat of arms?
The United States has no heraldic authority. However, the College of Arms in London can grant honorary arms to US citizens who meet its criteria and can show descent from a subject of the British Crown, which can include an ancestor who lived in the American colonies before 1783.
Do daughters inherit a coat of arms?
Yes. The College of Arms says a woman can bear arms by inheritance or by a grant to herself. Women traditionally do not bear crests, and heraldic heiresses pass their arms to their descendants as a quartering, a section of the shield alongside the father’s arms.