A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Lemos family of Spain.
saltireResolution, and St Andrew's crossJ. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“De gu. à cinq lunels d'or. posés en saut.”
The Lemos arms were recorded in Galicia, c. 1722.
Galicia was eastern country of large estates and small farming villages, held by families who had been there for a very long time. Land was what entitled a family to arms, and land there rarely changed hands.
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 Spain in this period.
Reigning in Spain when the Lemos arms are first recorded.
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 surname Lemos traces its roots to the rugged landscape of Galicia in northwestern Spain. The name is topographic, meaning it was likely taken from the geographical region known as the Comarca de Lemos. By the early 18th century, families bearing this name were well-established in the area, often tied to the local land and the distinct cultural traditions of the Galician people. During this period, members of the Lemos family were frequently recorded in parish registers and local administrative documents as they navigated the social and economic changes of the time. Because Galicia served as a crossroads for trade and migration, the family name became deeply woven into the regional history, reflecting a long-standing connection to the hills and valleys of their ancestral home.
Latin term meaning mud, slime, or silt.
