Q&A
Can I preview my Family Name History or Coat of Arms on the website before ordering? No, it is not yet possible to preview your Family Name History OR Coat of Arms before placing an order on-line. HOWEVER we will shortly be launching an on-line database which will allow you to preview SOME of the information directly relating to YOUR own Family Name History and we are planning a similar facility to allow a preview of a Coat of Arms for your name.
Do you have names from all over the world on your database? We currently have in excess of a million family names from all over the world on our database. In addition we have the largest library of its kind in the world with access to information on millions of other names. While the majority of names on our database tend to be of European origin we also have Asian, Middle Eastern and African-American names on our database.
What languages are the Family Name Histories available in? HRC's Family Name Histories are available in English, French, German, Italian, Portugeuse and Spanish. Our Family Name Histories are prepared in the language requested by the original customer. Many family name histories are written in the language of their country of origin, while most of our histories are also available in English. Where a Family Name History can not be found in a particular language, but exists in another of the six languages, a translation fee may apply.
Are the Family Name Histories completely authentic? Yes, each of our Family Name Histories has been individually researched at the specific request of a customer. Each fact contained in our family name history has been inserted because of its relevance to that particular family name.
Does The Historical Research Center carry out Genealogy research? No, the practice of researching the origins of family names is called ONOMASTICS whereas GENEALOGY is research into the origins or ancestry your own family. HOWEVER the outline of the history of the origin of your family name is often a good place to begin research of your genealogy in that it may offer useful pointers to the country or locality in which the name was originally found in addition to other useful information, such as bearers of the name and migration information.
What is a Coat of Arms? A Coat of Arms is an identifying mark or heraldic form of identification dating back to the European middle ages. The practice has its origins in the necessity to enable identification on the battlefield and out of this it developed, in parallel, into a form of denoting military or other types of distinguished recognition for individuals, families, organizations or institutions. The actual coat of arms itself is composed of a blazon of arms (in the shape of a shield) containing specific artwork (charges) in a combination of nine heraldic colors and metals (Or - Yellow/Gold, Azure - Blue, Argent - White/Silver, Sable - Black, Vert - Green, Gules - Red, Purple, Orange and Brown). This blazon is traditionally surmounted by a helmet on which is displayed the crest (which may be related to the charges of the blazon). This combination is further enhanced by heraldic supporters such as unicorns or lions and a mantle purporting to represent the cloak worn by a knight which generally carries the predominant colors contained in the blazon.
Does every name have a Coat of Arms associated with it? No, not every family name has a coat of arms. In instances where our research has been unable to verify a Coat of Arms associated with a particular name, or a variant of that name, it is normal practice to make reference to the arms of the country of origin of the particular name.
Can a name have more than one Coat of Arms? Yes, there are often more than one Coat of Arms displayed with a particular family name. Different branches of a family or particular individual bearers of a name may often have been granted their own Coat of Arms. Our research normally makes reference to the earliest Coat of Arms associated with the name.
Can the same Coat of Arms be associated with more than one family name? Yes, there are often cases of a number of family names being associated with one particular Coat of Arms. Also due to the consistency and universality of heraldic art, the same Coat of Arms may be associated with two entirely different names in two different countries.
Is it possible to establish when and where a particular Coat of Arms has been granted and to whom? Yes, however, not all source references give this much information regarding the granting of a Coat of Arms.
Is it possible to get one's own individual unique Coat of Arms? Yes, Coats or Arms for individuals or organisations are still granted (on payment of a fee and subject to an evaluation procedure) by some chief heralds or heraldic colleges around the world.
Can I preview my Family Name History or Coat of Arms on the website before ordering? No, it is not yet possible to preview your Family Name History OR Coat of Arms before placing an order on-line. HOWEVER we will shortly be launching an on-line database which will allow you to preview SOME of the information directly relating to YOUR own Family Name History and we are planning a similar facility to allow a preview of a Coat of Arms for your name.
Do you have names from all over the world on your database? We currently have in excess of a million family names from all over the world on our database. In addition we have the largest library of its kind in the world with access to information on millions of other names. While the majority of names on our database tend to be of European origin we also have Asian, Middle Eastern and African-American names on our database.
What languages are the Family Name Histories available in? HRC's Family Name Histories are available in English, French, German, Italian, Portugeuse and Spanish. Our Family Name Histories are prepared in the language requested by the original customer. Many family name histories are written in the language of their country of origin, while most of our histories are also available in English. Where a Family Name History can not be found in a particular language, but exists in another of the six languages, a translation fee may apply.
Are the Family Name Histories completely authentic? Yes, each of our Family Name Histories has been individually researched at the specific request of a customer. Each fact contained in our family name history has been inserted because of its relevance to that particular family name.
Does The Historical Research Center carry out Genealogy research? No, the practice of researching the origins of family names is called ONOMASTICS whereas GENEALOGY is research into the origins or ancestry your own family. HOWEVER the outline of the history of the origin of your family name is often a good place to begin research of your genealogy in that it may offer useful pointers to the country or locality in which the name was originally found in addition to other useful information, such as bearers of the name and migration information.
What is a Coat of Arms? A Coat of Arms is an identifying mark or heraldic form of identification dating back to the European middle ages. The practice has its origins in the necessity to enable identification on the battlefield and out of this it developed, in parallel, into a form of denoting military or other types of distinguished recognition for individuals, families, organizations or institutions. The actual coat of arms itself is composed of a blazon of arms (in the shape of a shield) containing specific artwork (charges) in a combination of nine heraldic colors and metals (Or - Yellow/Gold, Azure - Blue, Argent - White/Silver, Sable - Black, Vert - Green, Gules - Red, Purple, Orange and Brown). This blazon is traditionally surmounted by a helmet on which is displayed the crest (which may be related to the charges of the blazon). This combination is further enhanced by heraldic supporters such as unicorns or lions and a mantle purporting to represent the cloak worn by a knight which generally carries the predominant colors contained in the blazon.
Does every name have a Coat of Arms associated with it? No, not every family name has a coat of arms. In instances where our research has been unable to verify a Coat of Arms associated with a particular name, or a variant of that name, it is normal practice to make reference to the arms of the country of origin of the particular name.
Can a name have more than one Coat of Arms? Yes, there are often more than one Coat of Arms displayed with a particular family name. Different branches of a family or particular individual bearers of a name may often have been granted their own Coat of Arms. Our research normally makes reference to the earliest Coat of Arms associated with the name.
Can the same Coat of Arms be associated with more than one family name? Yes, there are often cases of a number of family names being associated with one particular Coat of Arms. Also due to the consistency and universality of heraldic art, the same Coat of Arms may be associated with two entirely different names in two different countries.
Is it possible to establish when and where a particular Coat of Arms has been granted and to whom? Yes, however, not all source references give this much information regarding the granting of a Coat of Arms.
Is it possible to get one's own individual unique Coat of Arms? Yes, Coats or Arms for individuals or organisations are still granted (on payment of a fee and subject to an evaluation procedure) by some chief heralds or heraldic colleges around the world.
