Are those get your coat-of-arms businesses for real?

Question

I'm Filipino with Spanish ancestors, so my last name traces back to Spain. Are these websites and carts in the mall that say they can get your coat-of-arms legit or just a novelty thing?

Answer 1

I tend to think it is a little bit of both, like anything else, you have to have your BS detection goggles on when you deal with these kinds of things.

About 20 years ago, I noticed my dad had some glasses in the cupboard that were new and had strange seals on them. I asked him about them, and apparently he got them from his deceased father. No idea where his father got them from.

Anyway, we are French-German Americans, and the coat of arms had the muslim crescent moon under a large ribbon and above that ribbon were two fleur-de-lis. I didn't think too much about it, but I did some research on the crescent and it claimed this symbolized my ancestors were active in the crusades.

So, fast forward almost 15 years later, me at a Renaissance Fair, I looked over at the booth, paged through their book and found my name, asked the guy to show me my coat of arms, lo and behold, same as I saw 15 years earlier. Of course, my name is old royal French blood line, and easily traceable, RENAULT.

I like to think everything is a scam, so I go into things with a skeptic mind, so the best I can figure is that these companies either share their results with one another (which makes no sense) or there is at least SOMETHING to it. I wouldn't call it 100% verifiable data though. Since Renault is such a common name in France, and the Americanized version of it, RENO, is not that uncommon in America, I suppose I could really hit the books and find out - but, for 20 bucks, I got a nice coat of arms that I am fairly certain is accurate and is a good conversation piece hanging on my wall.

And to answer the other guy re: Erickson, he is right, I lived in Norway and that is a fairly common name over there, definitely Swedish in origin. Most likely his experiences were with bonafide scam artists.

Answer 2

Hey Keanu,

Just a novelty. The best thing you could do would be to trace your family tree. That will tell you who you really are. If you want the origin of a name, that is legit too. But the Crest, or COA, forget it.

Answer 3

It's very muych a novelty thing. There is no such thing as a coat of arms for a family. Coat of arms is basically a form of a reward given to specific people.

Answer 4

They are a novelty.

Coats-of-arms are awarded to specific people, not family names. Unless you are a direct-line descendant from a proper bearer, you have no (legal) right to a given coat-of-arms (even if it's granted to someone with your last name)

Most of the websites, etc. selling coat-of-arms materials are woefully inaccurate in terms of genealogy.

Answer 5

They are sort of legit. Someone with your surname probably had that coat of arms. If your last name is Lopez or Sanchez or Perez, however, chances are the person the CofA was granted to isn't related to you at all. C of A go to individuals, not families. The eldest son inherits it.

Answer 6

I'll tell you how bad some on them are. I researched the name Erickson knowing it to be Swedish (and all its variants Ericsen, Ericson, Erixon, Eriksson, Eriksohn, which can of course be from Denmark, Norway, etc.). NOT ONE of the sites said that Erickson was Swedish or an Americanized spelling of Eriksson,etc.- all said it was German. I have NEVER met a German Erickson. Mostly a lot of trash!