A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Cavan family of France.
owlWisdom and vigilance by nightJ. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'or à trois chouettes de sa.”
The Cavan arms were recorded in Bretagne, c. 1663.
More families held coats of arms in Bretagne than anywhere else in France. The land was divided into many small estates rather than a few large ones, so far more households counted as gentry, and each needed a shield of its own to be told apart.
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.
The body that granted and recorded arms in France in this period.
Reigning in France when the Cavan arms are first recorded.
In France, a coat of arms was a mark of honor that passed down through the male line to all legitimate descendants. Families often used the same shield without changes to show their shared heritage. If a branch wanted to stand out, they could add a small mark to their shield to show their specific place in the family tree.
The family name Cavan traces its roots back to the coastal regions of Bretagne, where records confirm the presence of family members as early as 1663. During this period, the name was closely tied to the local landscape and the specific linguistic traditions of the Breton people. Families in this region often lived in small, tight-knit rural communities where they worked the land or engaged in maritime trade. Because the name appears in local parish registers from the mid-seventeenth century, it suggests that the family was well-established within the social fabric of their village. Over time, the name persisted through generations as families moved between neighboring parishes, maintaining their identity while adapting to the shifting political and cultural landscape of western France.
A Latinized form derived from the Gaulish word for hollow.
