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A fetterlock with the motto ‘Hoc Securicor’. This crest was registered in the 1680s by Grierson of Lag in Nithsdale. Fetter means chain, so these were locks designed for holding people. Fetterlocks are essentially hand or leg cuffs. Hoc Securicor just means ‘more secure with this’, so is just reinforcing the lock imagery. The Grierson seal in 1418 ..

The crest of the Grays is an anchor with the motto ‘Anchor Fast Anchor’. In the fifteenth century the crest of Andrew Gray of Boxmouth was a swan’s head issuing from a coronet, which was recorded in 1424. This was in turn used by his son, Andrew, the first Lord Grey. It is only in the Workman Manuscript of the 1560s we see the crest of Lord Gray de..

Our Grant Cap BadgeAlthough the chiefs of Grant have arms recorded back into the sixteenth century, the first record of their crest came when the arms were registered between 1672 and 1678 – these were a burning hill, with the motto ‘stand sure’. This was still the case at the time of Nisbett’s System of Heraldry in the 1720s and the 1750 ‘A Brief ..

We are delighted to announce the addition of a distinguished new kindred to our range: Irving of Bonshaw. Well, new in the sense that while the crest is new to our collection, the Irving family’s proud heritage stretches far back to the twelfth century, with a rich history rooted in the Scottish Borders.The late Romilly Squire, a renowned heraldic ..

The Graham crest is one of the more unique in Scottish heraldry. Here we have a falcon killing a stork, with the French motto ‘Ne Oublie’ – do not forget. Unfortunately, the exact event the falcon and stork are referring to has, it seems, been forgotten. Through the thirteenth and fourteenth century the Grahams favoured escallops and boars’ heads f..

The Gordon crest features a striking stag’s head with a piercing, thousand-yard stare. Set within a coronet, the stag is distinguished by five tines on each antler—likely a deliberate and symbolic detail. The accompanying motto is Bydand, derived from the Scots word bide or byde. This is ‘biding’ in English, as in biding one’s time, so this means “..

The Geds take their surname from a placename, but the name is also a Scots word for a pike—a long, sharp-toothed freshwater fish. This dual meaning is reflected in the heraldry associated with the family, where pike often appear as charges, notably in the arms of the Geds and their close kin, the Geddes family. This practice of visually representin..

The crest of the Laird of Gartshore features an eagle displayed, a heraldic term meaning the eagle is shown with its wings fully outstretched and its head held high. This commanding pose, coupled with the family motto “I renew my age,” gives the crest a sense of nobility and spiritual vitality, especially striking for a lairdly, rather than noble o..

Here we have an unusual heraldic composition: a royal orb positioned beneath the radiant rays of the sun, flanked on either side by two crossed ears of corn, accompanied by the succinct but aspirational motto, "Higher."In heraldry, the royal orb is traditionally and rather inelegantly referred to as a “mound.” This term derives from a corruption of..

The crest of the Galbraith family features a distinctive muzzled bear’s head, accompanied by the Latin motto “As Obice Suavior.” Translated from French, this phrase means “Gentler because of the obstruction,” implying that the bear has been tamed due to the presence of the muzzle. This symbolism suggests not only strength and ferocity restrained by..

The Highland branch of the Fraser family is historically represented by a distinctive and meaningful heraldic symbol: a buck’s head accompanied by the motto "Je Suis Prest," which translates from French to "I am ready." This emblem is rich in both symbolism and historical evolution. In heraldry, a deer’s head is often used to signify noble qualitie..

We’re back to visual punning (‘canting’) with the Fraser crest. ‘Fraise’ in French means strawberry, so this one is quite on the nose in terms of symbolism - a strawberry plant. The crest was devised by the Lords Fraser sometime in the seventeenth century, possibly when they were elevated to the peerage. The title Lord Fraser had been created by Ch..

Another griffon! Unlike Forsyth with its blue griffon, this one is ‘proper’ in the heraldic blazon, meaning it should be coloured in its natural colours. I’ve not seen one in the wild, but tradition is griffons should be shown gold.  The motto is ‘be it fast’, (in other words, let it be fast). There’s suspicious parallel with the Leslie crest w..

This surname has various spellings, Smith being the most common, but also Smythe, Smyt, Smit, and Gow (being the Gaelic), Gowan, MacGow and MacGowan. It’s an occupational surname, referring to someone who works metal, and mostly refers as shorthand specifically to a blacksmith, someone who works in iron or steel. Being such an important and wid..

A blue griffon with black talons and beak and a gold crown on its head. James Coat’s 1725 Dictionary of Heraldry says that griffons were used ‘to express strength and swiftness join'd together, and extraordinary Vigilancy to preserve things they are entrusted with’.Blue crowned Griffons had been used on the shield of Forsyth of Forsyth since at..

The Forrester crest is a hound’s head with collar, with the motto ‘blaw hunter blaw thy horn’. This comes from the Lords Forrester of Corstorphine. This was more or less the crest of Forrester recorded in the Workman Manuscript of 1565-6 (spelled there ‘Foster’), which had the motto ‘Hunter bla vy horn’. The arms of Lord Forrester included thre..

The Forbes Crest is a stag’s head with ten tynes on its antlers, and that specific formulation has been in place since at least the 1670s and is described in Sir George Mackenzie’s ‘Families of Scotland manuscript’. It was registered in the Lyon office at that time. Like we saw with Colquhoun and Davidson (and with more to follow) stags tend to..

The Fleming crest, originating with the Fleming’s of Biggar, consists of a goat’s head and the motto ‘Let the Deed Shaw’. Both motto and crest were recorded in the Workman’s Manuscript of 1565-6 for Lord Fleming. The goats head is rare in Scottish heraldry and a slight puzzle. James Coats’ 1725 Dictionary of Heraldry describes the goat as a symbol ..

The Fergusson crest features a bee on a thistle on a chapeau (hat) lined with ermine. It dates, minus the cap, to just before 1722 and was registered with the Lyon Office by Sir John Fergusson of Kilkerran.The Fergusson Arms shown in Nisbet's System of Heraldry of 1722 Obviously, the thistle is a symbol of Scotland, and had been for many centurie..

Sadly there isn’t one, as MacKinlay wasn’t a fully fledged clan/kindred by the usual metrics, instead being powerful followers of larger kin groups. As such, there were important MacKinlay septs of four larger clans, Buchanan for those east of Loch Lomond, MacFarlane for those north of Loch Lomond, Farquahrson for those in Aberdeenshire and the nor..