Coat of Arms & Family Crest Details
Sir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, London: Harrison & Sons, 1884
Blazon (the actual original written record)“Az. three crosses crosslet fitchée ar”
A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Chinea family of England.
Sir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, London: Harrison & Sons, 1884
Blazon (the actual original written record)“Az. three crosses crosslet fitchée ar”

The Chinea arms were recorded in England, c. 1620.
Arms such as these were typically recorded in York.
Yorkshire is the largest of the English counties, and it held more gentry families than any other. Land there was split among a great many households rather than a few, so a great many of them carried arms.
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.
English heraldry allowed arms to be shared by all legitimate descendants of the original owner. These symbols were treated as personal property that moved through the generations to all children. While the eldest son kept the original design, other family members could use the same shield without needing to change it or register their own unique versions.
The Chinea family name is deeply rooted in the historical landscape of York, where records confirm members of the family were living as early as 1620. During this period, York was a bustling center of trade and religious transition, and families like the Chineas were often integrated into the local parish life and the artisanal guilds that defined the city. While the name itself may have evolved from regional linguistic patterns or occupational descriptions common to Northern England, its presence in seventeenth-century parish registers suggests that the family held a stable place within the community. These early settlers likely navigated the social changes of the Stuart era, contributing to the local economy and the growth of the city during a time of significant national upheaval. By maintaining a documented presence in York, the early Chinea family helped establish a lineage that persisted through generations of urban development and historical change.
Derived from the Latin word for a person from China.
