Coat of Arms & Family Crest Details
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'or à trois pals de sa.; au chef de gu., ch. d'un lion léopardé d'arg.”
A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Marcotte family of France.
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'or à trois pals de sa.; au chef de gu., ch. d'un lion léopardé d'arg.”

The Marcotte arms were recorded in Artois, c. 1663.
Artois lay on the disputed ground between France and the Low Countries and was fought over for centuries. Families there held their land under arms, and a shield was how a fighting household was known.
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.
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 Marcotte family name traces its roots back to the northern region of France known as Artois. By the year 1663, records confirm that members of this family were well established in this area before some eventually crossed the Atlantic to settle in New France. The name itself is considered a diminutive form, likely derived from the personal name Marc. In the social structure of seventeenth-century France, families like the Marcottes were often tied to the land and local trade, reflecting the agricultural and industrious nature of the Artois province. As these early ancestors moved from their ancestral home to the colonies, they carried their family identity with them, helping to shape the cultural landscape of early North America.
Derived from the Latin name Marcus, associated with the god Mars.
