Family crests?

Question

Can someone please help me find the family crest for the surname "McCarren"

No I don't want to buy one at all I was just curious if it exists/what it would look like, all your answers helped alot thank

Answer 1

Have a look at either of the two links posted below.
http://search.swyrich.com/searchresults.asp?Licensee=uk24071&Surname=McCarren&sId=&t=2155
http://www.houseofnames.com/fc.asp?sId=&s=McCarren
hope thats what you are looking for.

Answer 2

No such thing. Crest were originally the plume a knight wore on his helmet. Then they were added to coats of arms for some noble deed. About the Elizabethan period all coats of arms had crest added to them.

Beware of coat of arms peddlers. They will sell you one without documented proof that you are entitled to it. All they go on is your surname.

Not everyone with the same surname comes from the same root. McCarren is an Irish variant of McCarron, meaning son of Ciarian. However you have to understand there was probably more than one Ciarian that had sons. The prefix O means descendant of. Not everyone named O'Brien is a descendant of Brian Boru as there was more than one Brian that had descendants.

There was a time when people did not have surnames and they were identified as John son of William, or they were Robert the taylor. Those names eventually became their surnames. Some
names were habitational names like the name of the town or castle they lived close to or Sam that lived on hill became Sam Hill. However Sam wasn't the only one living on a hill that took the name Hill.

People selling coats of arms are all over the internet. There are no laws regarding heraldlry in the United States and you are free to display one if you wish, but it is like putting up a picture of a famous person with your surname and claiming him as your direct ancestor whether you know he is or not.

There are about 200 with the surname Lewis which means almst 200 different individual were granted one. That doesn't mean everyone with the surname Lewis is related to any of the almost 200 granted one, much less be a direct male line descendant.

You can make your own if you wish.

Recently a lot of students have asked a question like yours because their teacher told them to find their "family crest." If that is your case, please educate your teacher. One thing, people mistakenly call a coat of arms a crest. The crest was an addition to the coat of arms.

Answer 3

Beware of House of Names because many times their information isn't correct ~ one of my family lines has bad information but it does give you a general idea what the Coat of Arms ie: Family Crest looks like.

Best place to get free information and connect with others researching this name is http://www.rootsweb.com/

Enter the name in the RootsWeb Search and on the next page, click on WorldConnect and look through the lists to see if you find anything for your line. You can then gather information and get people's emails so you can write them and share info. Remember that the info listed on any of these websites could be incorrect since some don't always document info before posting it (I have a line with that problem).

While on RootsWeb, be sure and click on the message board where people post their queries. A good way to find out what others have and also ask questions of your own to see if anyone can help you.

Ancestry.com is good but now there is a charge to be on their site and even that information isn't always documented by the poster.

Go to Google and type in McCarren family tree and see what lists come up (if any :) Then click on Images and see if anything appears that way. I have found several good things (pictures and charts) on the Image page.

Happy Hunting :)

Answer 4

I have asked the Royal College of Arms this question.
The answer is in England anyway there is no such thing as a family crest (coat of arms) they are granted to individuals only but may be inherited or ammended from generation to generation i.e Prince Charles has a different coat of arms from his maernal Granfather whoes coat of arms was different from his father, which was different from his mother Queen Victoria. Hope this helps

Answer 5

The McCarren family didn't make it into Burke's Peerage. See:
http://www.houseofnames.com/xq/as/fc/qx/mccarren_familycrest.htm or google McCarren and House of Names.

Answer 6

So you want something to hang on a wall that may have something to do with someone else's ancestry? Why?

Heraldry, nobility, and the right to bear arms was granted to an individual, a man, and inherited by his son, down the line. Not a family, not someone somewhere sometime with the same surname.

Answer 7

Family crests are-
a. Sort of a genealogical urban legend
b. granted to a particular person, not a family
c. a great product to sell to people who don't understand their proper use.
d. all of the above

ps... we have tons of friendly people here, who would enjoy helping you learn to trace your real ancestors. It's just been a long day, and thought I'd try to inject a bit of humor.
the right answer is "d"