Coat of arms with Scottish connection

**Mikilt** · 21st March 13, 10:18 AM

This is my family coat of arms

I have been searching for some connection between my family name and Scotland. It occurred to me that the image of the rampant lion on my family coat of arms might be a clue.

Might this be a clue to a possible connection? How can I research the origins of a coat of arms?

**Mike_Oettle** · 21st March 13, 10:54 AM

The mere presence of a rampant lion in a coat of arms does not by itself indicate a Scottish connection.
Lions in a variety of poses, but most commonly lions rampant, are to be found in the heraldry of all European countries, and that includes the three kingdoms of the British Isles (as they used to be).
Lions are extremely common in German and English heraldry, but they occur almost twice as frequently in arms from the Low Countries.
Regards,
Mike

**Harold Cannon** · 21st March 13, 10:55 AM

A rampant lion and three stars are very close to MacMillan. Some of the arms associated with the clan are very similar.

**Chas** · 21st March 13, 11:15 AM

Originally Posted by Mikilt

This is my family coat of arms

I have been searching for some connection between my family name and Scotland. It occurred to me that the image of the rampant lion on my family coat of arms might be a clue.

Might this be a clue to a possible connection? How can I research the origins of a coat of arms?

I am sorry to say - Absolutely Not.

There is no such thing as family coat of arms. A coat of arms is granted to one (1) person and is then inherited by his sons. It is not spread out to all his brothers and uncles and anyone else that happens to have the same name. That shield was granted to a man called Malone and it is quite possible that his descendants are alive today. If you use it, you would be using something that belongs to someone else.

If you went to a strange town, would you find another Malone and use his car when he wasn't there? Sleep in his bed, eat his food, drink his whisky? Those are all his possessions. And so are his arms. If you did it in Scotland, it would be seen as theft and there would be penalties. They don't take it lightly there.

Malone tends to be an Irish name. The lion was drawn by Arthur Charles Fox-Davis, an Englishman. Sorry, but that coat of arms does not bring you any closer to Scotland.

Regards

Chas

**Mikilt** · 21st March 13, 11:21 AM

Thank you all for your input. I knew it was a long shot, but I figured it was worth asking.

Cheers,

Michael

**Chas** · 21st March 13, 11:31 AM

Michael, there are two things here. Firstly, if you are interested in having your own coat of arms, then reading this whole Section (The Heraldry Forum) will show you at least two people people who have gone that route and one who got his arms officially registered.

If on the other hand it is the connection to Scotland you are after, then all I can do is wish you good luck. It might take many years till you establish a connection.

Regards

Chas

**creagdhubh** · 21st March 13, 11:31 AM

Originally Posted by Chas

I am sorry to say - Absolutely Not.

There is no such thing as family coat of arms. A coat of arms is granted to one (1) person and is then inherited by his sons. It is not spread out to all his brothers and uncles and anyone else that happens to have the same name. That shield was granted to a man called Malone and it is quite possible that his descendants are alive today. If you use it, you would be using something that belongs to someone else.

If you went to a strange town, would you find another Malone and use his car when he wasn't there? Sleep in his bed, eat his food, drink his whisky? Those are all his possessions. And so are his arms. If you did it in Scotland, it would be seen as theft and there would be penalties. They don't take it lightly there.

Malone tends to be an Irish name. The lion was drawn by Arthur Charles Fox-Davis, an Englishman. Sorry, but that coat of arms does not bring you any closer to Scotland.

Regards

Chas

***

**Cygnus** · 21st March 13, 03:44 PM

If it is a connection to Scotland you're after, give familysearch.org a try (if you haven't already). If you have the names and/or birthplaces and/or birth dates of a few generations, it can almost certainly help you get more branches on the family tree. Though such a website generally can't confirm that the names listed are actually your ancestors, it will often get you pointed in the right direction.

Good luck!