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'azur à la bande d'or, acc. en chef d'une étoile du même et en p. d'un croiss. d'arg.”
A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Polinski family of France.
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'azur à la bande d'or, acc. en chef d'une étoile du même et en p. d'un croiss. d'arg.”

The Polinski arms were recorded in Bresse, c. 1725.
Bresse was flat farming country in eastern France, known for its poultry and its markets. Its landed families were modest and long-settled, and steady holding of the same ground is what fills a register.
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 surname Polinski is rooted in the historical geography of Eastern Europe, where it functioned as a locative name indicating that a person originated from a place associated with the Polish lands. While the name carries these Slavic origins, the family established a notable presence in the Bresse region of France by 1725. During this period, the Bresse area was a rural landscape defined by its unique agricultural traditions and distinct local customs. Families moving into this region often integrated into the local economy by working in the fertile fields or participating in the regional trade of livestock and dairy. The presence of the Polinski family in Bresse during the early eighteenth century suggests a history of migration and adaptation, as they transitioned from their ancestral origins to become part of the social fabric of eastern France.
Refers to the Slavic people or the region of Poland.
