Does an Irish surname mean I can claim a family coat of arms?
No. In Ireland a coat of arms is granted by the Chief Herald of Ireland to one person, and it descends through that person's own line. It has never belonged to a surname, so there is no such thing as the arms of everyone who shares a name. What shops and websites sell by surname is a decoration: sometimes it uses arms that belonged to one historical bearer of the name, often it uses arms that belonged to somebody else entirely. If a named ancestor of yours was granted arms, that grant is a matter of record at the National Library of Ireland, which houses the Chief Herald's office. The honest version is more interesting than the mug.
Useful pages: The Irish surnames map · Trace your Irish roots · The 1926 Census guide · Coming home · Irish around the world · Plan your journey
More in Surnames and your Irish roots
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- How do I find my surname, its Irish form, meaning and heartland counties?
- My surname is not among the 795 mapped names. What should I do next?
- Where do I start tracing Irish ancestors if I only know a name and a rough date?