I think I have a lion on one and a gryphon on the other. Both of my parents descended from people who were nautical and one side often secured other people’s possessions on the high seas (buccaneer or pirate, depending upon your perspective 
)
One motto is “Ut prosim” (That I may be of use) and the other is “Audaces fortuna juvat” (Fortune favors the bold).
Irish and Welsh.
etfix misspelled word
Coat of arms? Pfft.
I come from a long line of peasants.
Vest of hands, then?
Belt o’ fingers?
I’d be mildly interested. My paternal grandpappy, one Max Herman Vilhelm Petersen, emigrated to San Diego by way of South America from Denmark in the early 1920s.
I seem to remember being told that his father was a keeper of the King’s Woods during probably the reigns of Frederick VIII and Christian X. It wouldn’t surprise me greatly if my grandfather changed his name when he headed off to South America at the age of fifteen (I don’t imagine one generally does such a thing if the home life is a happy one), but since he died some ten years before I was born, I can’t readily ask him, and we’ve always assumed he was born a Petersen.
Think you might have something?
I can certainly recommend any of these fine, aged mottos.
@nemomen may very well be interested in Il Porcupino Nil Sodomy Est.
Despite having my dad’s side traced back to Prague in the late 1500s, I do not believe our common family name ever had an official coat of arms. Though I am sure there are will people willing to sell you certificates telling you otherwise.
I DO have a Tartan on my mother side, whose mom was McKinley. It is similar to Nightwatch with red. Some day I would like the full sized kilt with sash made for ren faires.
Suggested mottos:
Live and Let Die
Hold our beer and watch this
We don’t dial 911
No solicitations allowed
Ass, grass, or gas, no one rides for free
Arms are granted to individuals, who then pass them down to their descendants. It really has nothing to do with surnames.
Add:
If you’re going to be dumb, you gotta be tough.
How about:
Hold this for me
Not a snowball’s chance in hell. None of my heritage. And a homemade one would have to be something like:
I may be the best person on this forum to truly understand how funny and true your post is!
I haven’t tried ancestry.com but I can’t even prove my grandfather and great uncle existed so I’m kind of stuck. I assume we came to America by way of Islington given what I do “know” but they were functionally abandoned by their fresh off the boat dad so even if I find their info, I may still be stuck.
My mom’s side may be easier to track but I know what they’re up to so it’s easier and there are a lot of them.
The family mystery won’t be solved anytime soon on my dad’s side.
My grandfather on my dad’s side was adopted, so it took a good amount of digging to find out my lineage there. (He is the one that crashed the train). My last name is Pickett, but my genealogical relatives were the Heffernans. Which is derived from the Irish word for Demon.
Life made so much more sense after that 
My family’s all over the place and surnames have been modified so many times that this might as well be the family crest.
Hay, remind me to grab some pickles on the way back from work!
I’m not joking!
