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Wilkinson Coat of Arms

There is some debate about the true coat of arms of the Wilkinson family. Different sources profess to have the true coat of arms, and I am not expert enough to discount any of them. Included below are some of the crests I have encountered. Submission are always welcome.


In a message to this site in response to this page, the following information was provided:

Please be aware that coats of arms do not belong to families. A coat of arms is the ancient equivalent of today's social security number. It is a device to identify a specific person, not a family. Also, you refer to the coats of arms as crests interchangably. The crest is only the tiny portion of the armorial bearings which rests on top of the helmet. In the first example show, the crest is the tiny unicorn head, because it "crests" the helmet.

I congratulate you for tracing your family history. If you enjoy this type of pursuit, perhaps you would enjoy joining the British Heritage Society.
http://home.aol.com/hartforth/

I am, respectfully yours,
Romero Anton XIV MontAlban-Anderssen, The Lord of Hartforth, N. Yorkshire UK

This coat of arms is officially documented in Burke's General Armory .

The translated description of the shield is:
Red; a silver wavy horizontal band between three silver unicorns heads severed.
Above the shield and helmet is the crest which is described as:
Out of a red mural crown, a silver unicorns head severed.

From The World Book of Wilkinsons published by Halberts Family Heritage.
Colors chosen by me from the desription, and are not guaranteed to be accurate.

I bought a copy of this one in England from one of the genealogy shops that have sprung up all over the country. The company claims that this one is modeled from the most ancient coat of arms for which it could find a record. The description is:

Coat of Arms: Blue with a horizontal stripe between three unicorns.
Crest: A unicorn emerging from a crown.
Motto: Tenez le Droit (Hold the Right).

This coat of arms was originally submitted by Gideon Wilkinson King from a keychain he purchased. While travelling in England, I saw many of these keychains for sale. A picture of the one I purchased is shown below. The keychain is produced by the Treasure House of Heraldry Ltd., Llandudno, LL30 2DT, United Kindom.

The description is:
Shield: Argent on a chevron between three trefoils slipped sable as many crescents or, a border engrailed azure. ie. A silver shield and on a black chevron are three gold crescents. Around the chevron are three shamrocks of black and a border of blue.
Crest: A stag's head erased azure, attired argent, charged on the neck with a sun or. ie. The head of a blue stag with silver horns with the mark of a gold sun on its neck.
Motto: Ad finem fideles. ie. Faithful unto the end.

This Coat of Arms was submitted by Robert John Wilkinson of Burlingame, CA.

Opposite Side of the Card:

The description of another coat of arms was submitted by Chris Wilkinson.

I purchased a stein in England that had a similar coat of arms as the first listed on your web page. It had complete unicorns rather than heads, and the motto "nec rege, nec populo, sed utroque" under the design. I never had it translated.

And the translation was offered by Heath Wilkinson

I just wanted to offer the translation for the quote he gave. I, too, found this to be the Coat of Arms for our family. The translation is &quotNot for King, nor for people, but for both."

A Wilkinson Coat of Arms which seems to match this description was submitted by John S. Wilkinson .

Attached is a Coat of Arms that was in my families house since late 1960's early 1970's. I am told that it was sold through Sears and Roebuck Catalog.

JSWilk Coat of Arms

This description of Wilkinson Canting Arms was submitted by Diane and Lanette Wilkinson of London, England.

My daughter and I found another reference to a Wilkinson shield in Boutell's Heraldry (1958). It is unlike any of the examples on your web page. It is given as an example of canting arms including shells:

"Per pale or and vert, a chevron between three whelk-shells, all countercharged."

Canting arms (also Allusive arms and Armes parlantes): Arms which pun or play on the name of the bearer. ("Whelk" sounds like "Wilk")

Whelk (also Welke) shell display of the shell of the whelk erect, with the opening in chief and with no part of the fish visible.

The example shows only the shield. Without the other clues (helmet and crest), it is difficult to estimate the time this may have been used, but I suspect it must have been an earlier version than the more common version displaying the unicorns. We saw repeated examples of shells used in canting arms for the Shelley name. It seems reasonable that the use for Wilkinsons may have died-out.

This Coat of Arms was sent by Mark Wilkinson of Ireland, scanned from a picture in his house. The description is:

This coat is registered in the office Ulster King of Arms on the 17th of February in the Tenth year of King George V (1920). The motto states "MEMOR ET FIDELIS" .

   

This Coat of Arms was downloaded from the A Family Affair website operated by Sean Morgan Knight. It is remarkably similar to the keychain version above, and probably has the same source.
The following coats of arms were provided by Mike of http://www.4crests.com.
    

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