Show me your family crest

[BB1]

Here is mine, looks like 4 horse shoes. It's a Dutch crest.
I was also born under the Chinese calender "The year of the Horse".
My first car was a Charger, which is a Battle horse.
My birth year was 1966 the first year of the Dodge Charger.

I am the human equivalent of a Charger.

I am horse GOD!!

[71_deputy]

MacLeod of Lewis

[C_stripes]

My last name is Macdonald. Here is a little info. Its kind of cool.
Jeremy

Clan Donald is the oldest and most famous of the Scottish clans. It's Celtic heritage goes back into antiquity beyond the 6th century A.D. to the great clans Conn and Colla in what is today, Ireland. Our ancestors were regarded as the heads of the ancient race of Conn and the lineal heirs of the Kings of the Dalriadic Scots.
Clan Donald begins its recorded history with Somerled, a great leader and warrior-king. In 1156, Somerled defeated the Norse King of Man, who had occupied the western isles and large portions of the Scottish mainland. He thus secured independence for the Celtic people who lived there. This independence would last for over four centuries.
Somerled became known as "Rex Insularum" or "King of the Isles". Over time, this title evolved to "Lord of the Isles". His genius at both land and naval warfare gave rise to the clan motto, "Per Mare Per Terras", which means "By Sea and by Land". Clan Donald takes its name from Donald the grandson of Somerled. In Gaelic, "Mac" means "son of". For about four centuries "Mac Donald" was a title not a surname.   
Over the centuries, the power of the Lords of the Isles grew and it brought them into conflict with both the English and the Scottish Kings and with other powerful clans. This growth of power also gave rise to other forces, which were eventually to cause the clan's downfall. Territorial expansion made centralized authority more difficult to maintain. The increasing clan population gave rise to allegiances to strong local leaders of the branches of the clan. Territories assigned to sons of various chiefs became more independent and weakened the central authority.
When James VI of Scotland, who held the title of Lord of the Isles, became James I of England, the title went with him. Male heirs to the British crown retain the title to the present day. Mac Donalds remained powerful and important in the Highlands, but six major branches of the clan were no longer unified as under the Lord of the Isles. After the battle of Culloden in 1746 the clan way of life in Scotland was destroyed and massive migrations that sent Mac Donalds all over the world began.

[BB1]

Very cool guys thanks. 

[Lowprofile]

Martin is my last name.  Here's my crest....soon to be a tattoo! 

[bull]

I don't know how to get any information on my Scottish and/or Irish family history. My mom's maiden name is McNew.

I do know something about my Indian history though. Here's my tribal crest on the left of this header:

[mikepmcs]

McSweeney is my last name.   Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Suibhne ‘son of Suibhne’, a byname meaning ‘pleasant’

Ireland           270
Great Britain   42
England           20
Scotland            2
Ireland;Georgia     1
Cork                    1

I believe we originated from County Cork.

mcsweeney Veterans   Allegiance   Total Veterans of the Civil War
19                       Confederate                1,050,000
55                                Union                2,213,363
74                          Combined                3,263,363

You can plus 2 more on that one.  My Father, 32 year USAF, and myself, 20 year USN.
I'm guessing we were union cause we came over and believe we settled in New York(I know duh, but...) I believe we entered in Nova Scotia vice Ellis, could be wrong though.

I purchased the history some time ago(like 18 years ago) for both of my parents and just can't remember every detail but want to say we have ties to the IRA or something like that.(Maybe that is common, I don't know)
It would be interesting to know if we are related to Terrance McSweeney; Mayor of Cork.

Anyways, you now have me interested in finding more about the lineage, thanks  

I am the last of my immediate tree though, because, I am the only son and I have never been married(ie: no children)

Here is our COA.

[jackel440]

Thanks for sharing your family crests and some history thats awesome
I don't know much about my family history.Does only scottish ancestry have crests?Is it possible to design one for your family if there is no known history of one?I started to look into this once,but life interupted.
Awesome guys

[Todd Wilson]

[JoeyGowdy]

Gowdy / Goudy / Goude :
(click to enlarge)


GOWDY COAT OF ARMS

The Scottish surname of Gowdy is of nickname origin. It is in fact a variant of Goldie, which in turn is a diminutive form of Gold. Gold comes from the Old English personal surname of "Golda" or "Gold" from the metal of the same name. This was a very popular name in the Middle Ages in England. The name "Golda" could also have have been applied as a nickname to someone with fair or gold coloured hair. It was common practice in the Middle Ages to name people according to a personal or physical characteristic, and the colour of hair and skin were a main source for nicknames.  The surname Gowdy appears in Edinburgh from 1598 onwards in the forms of Gowdie, Gaudie, and Goddie. The Surname was carried early to the north, appearing in Shetland first in 1576. There was also a town or village of this name near Dundee in Scotland.

BLAZON OF ARMS: Argent a chevron between two trefoils slipped chief vert and a tortoise in base gules.
Translation: Argent, or silver, denotes Peace and Sincerity. The Trefoil indicates Fertility and Abundance. The Tortoise signifies Invulnerability to Attack. Gules, or red, denotes Military Fortitude and Magnanimity.

CREST: A garb or.
Translation: The Garb signifies Plenty or the Harvest of One's Hopes.

MOTTO: Honestas.
Translation: Honesty.

Source: Gowdy.org

[Manfred318]

A bit of history...
This interesting and long-established surname, recorded from an early date in the south eastern English counties of Kent and Sussex, has two distinct possible sources, each with its own history and derivation. Firstly, Allred may derive from the Middle English personal name "Alred", which represents a coalescence of two Olde English pre 7th Century male given names: "Ealdraed", composed of the elements "eald", old, and "raed", counsel, and "Aethelraed", from "aethel", noble, and "raed" (as above). "Alret" (without surname) appears in the Domesday book of 1086 for Kent, and an Alredus de Wicham was recorded in the 1206 Curia Regis Rolls of that county. The surname was first recorded prior to the end of the 12th Century (see below), and further early examples include: Walter Ailred and Martin Alred (Huntingdonshire, 1279). The second possibility is that Allred is a variant of Aldritt, a topographical name from residence by an alder grove, chiefly found in Sussex, and deriving from the Middle English "aldrett" (Olde English "alor", alder (grove)). Robert atte Aldratte was noted in the 1332 Subsidy Rolls of Sussex. In the modern idiom the name is variously spelt: Alred, Allred, Aldred, Audritt, Eldred, Eldrett and Eldritt. Henry Allred and Margett Oswell were married at St. Mary le Bow, London, on May 13th 1544. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Alred, which was dated 1198, in the "Pipe Rolls of Kent", during the reign of King Richard 1, known as "Richard the Lionheart", 1189 - 1199.

[bull]

According to Irishsurnames.com this is my family Coat of Arms. Looks pretty lame.

[The70RT]

Whatever              Bird......I don't own a bird....too bad though.

[RallyeMike]

Maybe I'm confused by this topic, but my family likes "Extra Whitening"   

[C_stripes]

LOL^^^

[RD]

believe it to be from england..., but there is an irish crest too.. but i dont believe that we are direct descendants from that line.

[moparstuart]

   sutton crest ( coat of arms)
Excerpt from the sutton Family History Scroll: The sutton as an ancient Nottinghamshire family traces its ancestry as a family of Norman origin before the year 1400 and first appears in the ancient records in Nottinghamshire located in England. From very early on the sutton family held their lands and estates and their sutton coat of arms with shield and crest appears on the earliest registrations for the family. There are several different spellings used for the family over the centuries, including sutton and during later years they moved and branched into neighbouring regions as well as,... Notable amongst the family was one member of the sutton family who appears recorded at Nottinghamshire ,.. Many members of this ancient distinguished family, sutton, were active in service to the,... Family tradition has it that the sutton anciently trace their descent from

[hemigeno]

Here's a little background on my family name:

In the case of the Lewis family, heraldry is the only source of recorded evidence as to the original home and ancestry of the emigrant member of the family. The Lewis family of Warner Hall bears the Arms: Argent a griffin's head and neck erased vert, holding in the mouth a bloody hand. The motto of the family is "Omne solum forti patria est" - literally, Every land is a brave man's country. These are the arms and motto of the Lewis family of Brecon, Wales and the Warner Hall family of Lewis is descended in the male line from one branch of the Brecon family of Lewis.

Several interesting legends have come down to the present day to explain the origin of the Lewis Arms. One legend recounts that Llewellyn, Prince of Wales, was hunting one day and came upon a wild boar. The animal rushed at the Prince, who was saved only by the quick action of one of his chiefs and relatives of the same name. This chieftain quickly placed his own hand in the beast's open mouth as the only means of saving Llewellyns life; and as a reward, he thereafter bore the Arms described above, the griffin's head holding in the mouth a bloody hand.

Another account has it that a number of Welsh warriors were approaching the coast of Ireland in their small boats with a view of laying claim to the land; and that according to a previous agreement, the land would belong to him who first touched it. The Lewis ancestor is said by this account to have foreseen a close finish to the race, and to have chopped off his own hand and thrown it ahead of him to the shore, thus securing possession of the land. This latter account, while possessing its own romanticism and accounting for the bloody hand, does not explain as well as the first account the symbolism of the griffin's head. In some books of heraldry the griffin's head on the Lewis Arms is described as a dragon's head; the two are, of course, very similar in heraldic representation.

... and the aforementioned crest:

[rav440]

[hemi68charger]

Nice can Todd................. Don't tell me you collect as well...................

Troy

[JoeyGowdy]

Sorry about that - I just fixed the broken images, refer to this post to see our coat of arms.   

[Orange_Crush]

Here's mine

[Manfred318]

 

Here's mine

[PocketThunder]

None for me that i know of, but i do know that my ancestors are from Coblence, Germany.

http://www.allfamilycrests.com/

[Guns N Rotors]

The Conway crest.