How to Make Your Own Family Crest and Coat of Arms: A Step-by-Step Guide

Why Make A Family Crest

Whether you’ve discovered an old family heirloom or are curious about the stories behind your last name, creating a family crest is a meaningful way to connect with your heritage.

It can serve as a reminder of your family values, spark pride in your ancestry, and provide a sense of continuity by having a piece of family history with you. 

[Try our free family crest maker here]

Starting Your Own Family Crest Tradition

The process of making your own family crest is actually easier than you might imagine! It’s a fun yet personal way to delve into your family history and feel more connected with your heritage.

Even if you don’t have an official family crest from your ancestors, you can start the tradition right now. 

What is a Family Crest?

A family crest is part of the coat of arms—an emblem that uses a combination of shapes, symbols, and colors used by knights to tell friends from foes in battles. 

These coats of arms also symbolize the nobility, values, and achievements of the knights, so they’re a highly significant symbol to families that have them.

While family crests were originally tied to ancestral prestige, you can design your crest as a personal representation of what’s important to you and your family. 

How to Find Your Family Crest Symbols

If your family already has a crest or coat of arms, that’s a great place to start! You can use it as inspiration, building on its symbols and personalizing it to your liking.

But if you don’t have one, don’t worry, as you can still design your family crest starting with symbols or heraldic charges that resonate with your history and personality.

Each element has its own meaning in heraldry, so think about what your family values— whether it’s strength or loyalty— and then choose the symbols that represent those qualities. 

1. Online Databases

Websites like Ancestry and Family Search can help you research family history records just by typing in your name.

While they won’t directly tell you if there is an existing family crest connected to your name, they’re great for uncovering how your family name came to be and hints at how it may be tied to a coat of arms, especially if an earlier version or spelling variation exists. 

2. Ask Your Family

Sometimes asking your family can be the best source of information, especially if you can find old photos, documents, and stories about your family history. 

No Family Crest?

Don’t stress if there’s no crest linked to your name. This is where it gets fun because you get to make your own! 

How to Make Your Own Family Crest

[Try our free family crest maker here]

1. Pick Symbols that Represent Your Family

Choosing a symbol or heraldic charge for your coat of arms is an important aspect in making your design. These charges can symbolize what you value as a family, whether it’s strength, courage, wisdom, or any other defining trait.

Here are some common examples of heraldic charges you can use:

Think about what values are important to your family and try to find symbols that you can add to your design. 

2. Choose your colors

There are five common colors in heraldry, according to the rules of tincture in traditional family crest making: gules (red), sable (black), azure (blue), vert (green), and gold.

Other designs also use silver and furs like ermine, which represents the fur of a stoat, and vair. 

Here are the meanings behind some heraldic colors:

However, if you’re using your family crest for personal projects, you can choose colors that best represent your uniqueness and characteristics!

3. Arrange your symbols onto a background shape

You’ve probably noticed that many of the common coats of arms use a shield shape, but you can also use other shapes like squares and triangles.

Before adding symbols, divide your shape into 4 sections and place different symbols on each one, or you can pick one bold symbol for the entire coat of arms for a ‘less is more’ approach.

In this step, you can add your supporters, which usually go on either side of the design to create balance. 

4. Add a motto

This can be a phrase that represents a family value, a saying of a beloved ancestor, or a mantra that is simply meaningful to you. 

5. Design your crest

This is where it all comes together! You can utilize free websites like Coat of Arms Maker and My Tribe 101 and make your own family crest by choosing pre-made symbols, shapes, and colors, simply putting the pieces together.

If you want a more personalized approach, you can also use editing software like Canva or Adobe to give your own spin on it. 

But if designing isn’t exactly your thing, don’t worry.  

For a more historically accurate coat of arms or family crest, you can always have experts like us handle the research and design to make sure that it aligns with traditional heraldry while still capturing your unique family story.  

Display Your Family Crest

Once you’re done designing, it’s time to show it off! Here are some ideas on how to display your family crest:

• Home Decor - Print your family crest and frame it as a centerpiece, or even turn it into custom home items like rugs, throw pillows, or a plaque. 

• Family Gatherings - The invitations can be personalized by stamping the family crest design or printing it on t-shirts and banners during family reunions. 

• Gift Ideas - Custom mugs, keychains, or tote bags can make for sentimental and fun keepsakes. Family crests can also be elegantly engraved on jewelry pieces or embossed on leather journals. 

Bringing Your Family Story to Life

When you’re making a family crest, you are not only putting together symbols. You’re creating a visual story of your family’s values and legacy. 

You’d want to make sure that it conveys who you are as a family in one glance. The challenge here is balancing complexity with symbols that have deep meaning and simplicity so it’s easy to understand and remember.