A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Duh family of France.
lionCourage, strength and royaltyJ. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'azur au léopard d'or.”
The Duh arms were recorded in Maine, c. 1663.
Maine was quiet farming country in western France, held in small manors by families who stayed for generations. Nothing about it was grand, but steady landholding is exactly what puts a name in the registers.
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 Duh 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 Duh carries a history rooted in the rugged landscape of colonial Maine, where records confirm the presence of family members as early as 1663. During this period, the region was a frontier territory defined by dense forests, harsh winters, and the constant challenges of establishing permanent settlements along the Atlantic coast. Families with this name likely lived as pioneers, relying on fishing, timber, and small-scale farming to survive in a remote wilderness that was often caught between competing colonial interests. Because the name is short and distinct, it may have evolved from early phonetic spellings or local nicknames used by settlers to identify neighbors in small, isolated communities. By embedding themselves in the early history of Maine, these ancestors helped shape the foundations of one of the oldest English-speaking settlements in North America.
A contraction of the preposition de and the article le meaning of the.
