Genealogy Starter

Genealogy Starter will NOT sell you on the mystique of coats of arms (aka “Family Crests”), but instead offers you this factoid as you pursue your family’s history:

Coats of Arms (a.k.a. “Family Crests”) are not associated with surnames!

If your name happens to be J. Doe, the “Doe Family Crest” that you found in that last Google search certainly has absolutely nothing to do with your family. Crests/coats of arms were and are a heavily regulated heraldic tradition typically as a means for identifying the person (not the family) that owned the crest.

While it is true that there is also heraldry used by families, companies and even countries; it has never been common for a coat of arms to be passed across generations without modification. Uncommon, but not unheard of. Still, if your father did not specifically pass heraldry on to you, then the coat of arms does not belong to you. Period.

Protected by law

In some areas, particularly throughout Europe, heraldry is protected by law. You are not allowed to possess the coat of arms of another, and if you’re a decent respectful human being then you shouldn’t want to possess another’s property as your own! Most of the sites that try to con you into purchasing “your family’s” coat of arms have some fine print skirting the issue. The ones that don’t have the fine print have usually just fabricated everything they’re selling.

If you still really want one you’ve found, here’s how to get it free:

If you’ve found an example of heraldry that you simply can’t do without, at least don’t
pay a website $10, $15 or even $20+ dollars for something that they have no more right to than you do. You can find many examples of legitimate heraldry online, like on Wikipedia, and you may just find the one you want without the fake extras put on by the scam industry!