My daughter-in-law is researching her Leitch ancestry, an old Scottish surname. In the process, she is having a great time learning about clans and history and geography and social systems.

An Internet search located links to websites selling the Leitch family coats of arms. Can she purchase the coats of arms? Of course she can. Are they really for her line? Probably not.

Coats of arms were used by knights and the nobility. Depending upon the geographic area, arms were further used by bishops, cities, and merchants. In all cases, the arms were granted to an individual or to the city. There is no such thing as a “family” coat of arms. When the individual who owns the coat of arms dies, his eldest son may apply to the heralds to use the same coat of arms. When the son dies, the next generation is entitled to apply for permission, and so on.

Each country in Western Europe as well as in England, Scotland, and Ireland has an office of the heralds, sometimes called the Kings of Arms. The heralds are empowered to decide who is authorized to display a certain coat of arms.

In the United States, we do not have an office of heralds. There is an American College of Heraldry that will register a coat of arms for individuals or businesses.

The Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) has an online article about heraldry in the United States. They summarize the use of arms:

• Anyone whose uninterrupted male-line immigrant ancestor was entitled to use a coat of arms has the right to use this same coat of arms.
• If the uninterrupted male-line immigrant ancestor had no such right, then neither does the descendant. Anyone who claims the right to arms under European laws must prove the uninterrupted male-line descent as outlined above.
• As an exception, a United States citizen can obtain a grant or confirmation of other arms — from the College of Arms in England or the appropriate national heraldic authority in other countries — by payment of required fees.

For people who want a coat of arms and do not want to go through the bother of researching their ancestry or registering a new coat of arms, they may design their own or purchase one from a merchant. Just consider it an interesting piece of art.

Resources:

• American College of Heraldry, www.americancollegeofheraldry.org
• Heraldry section on Cyndi’s List, www.cyndislist.com/heraldry.htm
• Heraldry in the United States, www.bcgcertification.org/resources/heraldry.html

© 2006

Connie Lenzen, CG