Coat of Arms

Have you ever wondered what your family crest looks like, or what the symbols on it mean? While researching the most common Irish family names, single family names, no matter how historically significant the name was, had its own distinctive crest. Often these crests are rich with symbolism.

Crests, or Coat of Arms, have been used since medieval times as identifiers for certain important leaders, names or institutions. They were worn by knights on their armour or shield when riding into battles, printed on paperwork or used on wax seals of documents, emblazoned on flags flown above castles or on ships, and in any other manner where the person or institution needed to be identified. Initially they were adopted in the 12th century by feudal lords and knights to identify who was who in battles – no doubt it would have been somewhat difficult to keep track of who was winning if everyone was running around in armour without any sort of marker. The use of crests became more widespread when high class, wealthy families who usually owned significant amounts of land adopted them. This was probably done for territorial purposes as well as pure vanity!Gradually the adoption of a coat of arms found its way all across medieval Europe and spread into such areas as the Church, town councils, universities, trading companies, and of course, royalty.