Heraldry » The Myths of Heraldry and Coats of Arms

Ancestral Findings - The Real Truth Behind Coats of Arms and Family Crests

Baronage Caveat Emptor: Name Histories and Family Crests

College of Arms - Frequently Asked Questions

Answers the question "do coats of arms belong to surnames?" with a resounding NO!

Excuse Me, But There's No Such Thing As A Family Crest

GenealogyMagazine, Episode 10: The Family Crest (YouTube)

This video discusses the myth that every family has a coat of arms (“family crest”) or at least one exists for every last name.

GenealogyMagazine.com - The Use and Abuse of the Coat of Arms and Crest

One hundred years ago, William Crozier Armstrong noted that, In America we have no institution analogous to the College of Heralds; the consequence is, that there are more assumptive arms borne in America than anywhere else. It is not overestimating when we say that at least seventy-five percent of the arms engraved on notepaper today are fraudulent..

Quick tip – Most people did not have crests

An article from Yvette Hoitink, a Dutch genealogist.

Weiner-Gozen's Blog Page: The Myth of Family Crests