Over the years, many people have asked “Is there a Huntington coat of arms?” The direct answer to this question is “yes”. As a matter of fact, there are five coats of arms bearing the Huntington surname.

But there is more to this question. What really should be asked is “Are we entitled to bear a coat of arms?” The answer to this question is “no”, or at least, not a coat of arms recorded by the College of Arms in England.

The reason for this is found in the rules of heraldry from England. First, the arms must be granted to an individual. The rule is “one man, one coat”. Then, all descendants of this person may bear these arms, usually modified in some way to make them unique to the individual bearing them. For instance, the oldest son would use his father’s arms and simply put a label (special symbol denoting the first son) across the top of the shield. When the father died, he would remove his label and bear his father’s arms unmodified. All other sons would bear their father’s arms, but would modify it such that it too contained a symbol denoting their birth order (i.e.; crescent for second son, mullet for third son, etc.)

Another reason you would modify a coat of arms is when a son marries a woman from another family bearing arms. In this case, the arms of the son may be divided in such a way as to include a portion of his wife’s arms. This is called marshalling. However this process often led to ambiguities and was abandoned in favor of impalement, where two complete coats of arms are placed side by side on the same shield.

There are countless rules by which arms are modified in some way. Much of it depends on whether there are only sons, only daughters, both sons and daughters, whether the father is living, either spouse has died, etc. It’s really complicated, and only a student of heraldry could keep track of it all.

Earlier it was noted American Huntingtons are not entitled to bear a coat of arms recorded by the English College of Arms. That is because the right to bear these arms is dependant on proof of descent from the person issued these arms. But in the U.S., arms are generally treated as a trademark. Therefore, anyone can have a coat of arms created, and display it as they see fit. There are countless organizations that will do this for you for a small fee. Sometimes companies or organizations display a coat of arms. Wide World of Sports and Blue Cross and Blue Shield are probably two of the more famous ones.

Yet, according to the rules of heraldry, only individuals can bear a coat of arms. Organizations must display a badge or seal. A badge or seal is a circular symbol which may contain many of (but not limited to) the symbols of a coat of arms. So the bottom line is Simon Huntington and his descendants cannot legitimately bear any arms recorded by the English College of Arms.

HUNTINGTON COAT OF ARMS

We have not proved a direct line of descent from the person to whom those arms were issued.For those who do not have a coat of arms, the College will grant a person their own unique honorary coat of arms. A person does not have to be descended from royalty to have one. The applicant must show proof of a British male ancestor, no matter how far back, or one that lived in America before 1783, when Britain recognized U.S. independence. The applicant must prove good character and have performed some unique service - voluntary, professional, business, or in the crafts, for example.

The College will take an applicant’s word for a British ancestor up to grandfather, but beyond that documentary proof is required. A person must know the name of the British male and his birthplace.

If interested, send your application to The Officer-in-Waiting, The College of Arms, Queen Victoria Street, London, EC4V4BT, England.