A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Cowart family of England.
Reg. 3658 · English, A–C
Coat of Arms & Family Crest Details
Symbols on this shield
cinquefoilHope and joy
Colours
Gold (Or)Means: Generosity
Black (Sable)Means: Constancy
What the shield shows
A gold background crossed by two black bands, carrying three silver five-petalled flowers, two above and one below.
Source
Sir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, London: Harrison & Sons, 1884
Blazon (the actual original written record)
“Or, on two bars sa. three cinquefoils ar. two and one”
SomersetWells · Somerset, c. 1620
Where the Cowart Arms Were Recorded
Somerset
Map of England showing where the Cowart arms are recorded
The Cowart arms were recorded in Somerset, c. 1620.
Somerset was rich farming country with a thick scattering of manor houses. Its gentry were numerous and long-settled, and a settled landed family almost always ended up with 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.
The body that granted and recorded arms in England in this period.
James VI and I
Sovereign of the period
James VI and I
1603–1625
Reigning in England when the Cowart arms are first recorded.
How Arms Worked in England
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.
Granting authority
The College of Arms in London has regulated the use of coats of arms throughout England and Wales since 1484.
How they got arms
Families typically obtained their coats of arms through a formal grant from the Crown or by proving their ancient right to them.
Where arms were recorded
All official coats of arms are recorded in the registers kept at the College of Arms, which date back to the fifteenth century.
The family's standing
Recorded among the armigerous families of Somerset.
Origin & History of the Cowart Family in England
PronunciationKOW-art/ˈkaʊɑːt/
The family name Cowart has deep roots in the English county of Somerset. By the year 1620, records confirm that families bearing this name were well-established in the region. The name is believed to be an occupational surname, which was a common way for people to identify themselves during the Middle Ages. It likely evolved from the term cowherd, which described a person who tended to cattle. Over many generations, the pronunciation shifted, and the spelling eventually settled into the form we recognize today as Cowart.
Life in seventeenth-century Somerset was centered around agriculture and local trade. Families like the Cowarts were typically part of the rural community, working the land or managing livestock in the rolling countryside. As the British Empire began to expand, some members of the family eventually sought new opportunities across the Atlantic. These early settlers brought their name and traditions to the American colonies, where the family line continued to grow and spread across the continent.
Related Branches & Arms
Root word
Cowherd
A person who tends or herds cattle.
This name
CowartAn occupational surname for someone employed to look after a herd of cows.
also spelled
Caward
Cowart
Cowerd
Documented Sources
Sir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, London: Harrison & Sons, 1884
Bardsley, Charles Wareing, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, 1901
Reaney, P.H., A Dictionary of British Surnames, 1958
Somerset Archives, Quarter Sessions Records, 1620
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cinquefoilHope and joy
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