Coat of Arms & Family Crest Details
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“Coupé: au 1 d'arg. à un chien pass. de sa.; au 2 d'azur à trois fasces ondées d'arg.”
A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Cata family of Spain.
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“Coupé: au 1 d'arg. à un chien pass. de sa.; au 2 d'azur à trois fasces ondées d'arg.”

The Cata arms were recorded in Spain, c. 1722.
Arms such as these were typically recorded in Castile.
Castile was the heart of Spain and the source of most of its noble families. Land won in the long wars against the Moors was granted out to fighting men, and a man granted land was granted arms along with it.
This is where the arms were entered in the register. Families often moved to other parts of the country, so the same name can turn up in more than one region.
In Spain, a coat of arms was considered a form of property that belonged to the entire family line. These arms were passed down from a father to all his children equally. Younger branches of the family usually kept the original design without needing to add any special marks to distinguish their specific line.
The family name Cata traces its roots to the historical region of Castile, where ancestors were firmly established by the year 1722. During this era, Castile was the heart of the Spanish kingdom, serving as a center for agricultural development and local administration. Families with this surname were often integrated into the rural social structures of the Spanish interior, where they participated in the local economy and community life. The name itself likely evolved from regional linguistic patterns common to the Iberian Peninsula, reflecting the way people identified their origins or occupations during the eighteenth century. As the family grew, they remained part of the fabric of Castilian society, contributing to the cultural and historical legacy of the region through their daily work and local interactions.
Latin term meaning a cat or a feline animal.
