The Meaning Behind Your Family Motto: How to Find and Understand It

The Meaning Behind Your Family Motto: How to Find and Understand It

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Below every coat of arms — on a scroll, in Latin or French or the family’s native tongue — sits a phrase that the family chose to define themselves. A family motto is more than decoration. It’s a declaration: this is who we are, this is what we stand for, this is the principle we will not compromise.

If you’ve ever seen your family’s coat of arms, you’ve probably noticed the motto. But do you know what it means? Where it came from? What your ancestors were saying when they chose those words?

What Is a Family Motto?

A family motto is a short phrase — usually in Latin, Norman French, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, or the family’s native language — displayed on a scroll below the shield in a coat of arms. In Scottish heraldry, mottos sometimes appear above the crest instead.

Mottos were not part of the original heraldic system. They developed gradually from the 13th century onward, as families added personal phrases to their visual identity. By the 15th and 16th centuries, mottos were standard components of most coats of arms.

Unlike the shield design, which was formally granted and regulated, mottos were more freely chosen — a family might change their motto over generations, adopt a new one after a significant event, or have different branches use different phrases.

Types of Family Mottos

Virtue Mottos

The most common type — declarations of the family’s core values:

  • “Virtute et labore” (By virtue and labor) — a work ethic as a hereditary value
  • “Fortis et fidelis” (Strong and faithful) — the twin virtues of a military family
  • “Pro rege et patria” (For king and country) — loyalty as the defining virtue
  • “Sine macula” (Without stain) — the purity of family honor

Battle Cries and War Mottos

Some mottos originate as actual battlefield cries — phrases shouted to rally troops or identify allies in the chaos of medieval combat:

  • “Dieu et mon droit” (God and my right) — the English royal motto, first used by Richard I
  • “Clan Donnachaidh” — the battle cry of Clan Robertson in Scotland
  • “Crom aboo” (Crom forever) — the war cry of the Fitzgerald Earls of Desmond in Ireland

Wordplay and Puns (Canting Mottos)

Medieval heralds loved wordplay. Many mottos are puns on the family name — called “canting” mottos:

  • The Fortescue family: “Forte scutum salus ducum” (A strong shield is the safety of leaders) — a play on Fortescue
  • The Porter family: “Ports ouverts aux bons” (Gates open to the good) — a play on porter (gatekeeper)

Religious Mottos

Many families, particularly those with strong Catholic or Protestant identities, chose mottos expressing faith:

  • “In Deo confido” (In God I trust)
  • “Dieu avec nous” (God with us)
  • “Crux mihi anchora” (The cross is my anchor)

Historical Event Mottos

Some mottos commemorate specific historical events — a battle won, a king saved, a siege survived:

  • The Maxwell family: “Reviresco” (I flourish again) — referencing the clan’s recovery after devastating defeat
  • The Bruce family: “Fuimus” (We have been) — a meditation on past glory and present duty

Famous Family Mottos and Their Stories

Campbell: “Ne obliviscaris” (Forget not) — a command to remember the clan’s history and obligations

MacDonald: “By sea and by land” — reflecting the Lords of the Isles’ maritime and territorial dominance

O’Neill: “Lamb dearg Éireann” (The red hand of Ireland) — the ancient symbol of Ulster kingship

Fitzgerald: “Crom aboo” — one of Ireland’s oldest battle cries

Bonaparte: “L’aigle vole de clocher en clocher” (The eagle flies from steeple to steeple) — Napoleon’s triumphant return motto

How to Find Your Family Motto

Your family motto is recorded alongside your coat of arms in heraldic archives. The same sources that record the shield design also record the motto:

  • Burke’s General Armory (for British and Irish families)
  • Rietstap’s Armorial Général (for European families)
  • The College of Arms and Court of the Lord Lyon records
  • Regional armorials for French, German, Italian, Spanish, and other European families

Your Motto, Your Declaration

Somewhere in history, someone bearing your family name chose words that they wanted to define the family forever. Words about courage, faith, loyalty, perseverance, or wit. Words that said: this is what we stand for.

Those words are still there, recorded in the archives. Find them.

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