02/11/2026
One of the most common questions we hear at COADB is:
“Did my family actually have a coat of arms?”
The answer isn’t found by buying a surname plaque or clicking a random image online. It’s found by tracing the family line first, then searching the correct heraldic repositories tied to that lineage’s place, period, and social status.
For families with roots in the former Czechoslovakia (modern Czech Republic & Slovakia), authentic blazons live in very specific places.
Where legitimate Czech & Slovak blazons are found
At COADB, our genealogy packages include targeted searches in repositories such as:
• REKOS (Czech Parliamentary Register of Municipal Symbols)
Used when a lineage connects to towns, burgher families, or civic officials whose arms were tied to municipalities.
• The Heraldic Register of the Slovak Republic
The authoritative source for Slovak heraldic registrations, confirmations, and officially recognized arms.
• Historic Czech & Moravian armorials (Sedláček, seals & noble atlases)
Critical when a documented family line intersects with medieval or early-modern nobility, landed families, or armigerous households.
• Central European armorial traditions (including Siebmacher references)
Used carefully and comparatively when families crossed borders during Austro-Hungarian and earlier periods.
• National, university, and regional archives
Many blazons are preserved only in manuscript form, seals, or regional publications rather than modern databases.
How COADB approaches coats of arms research
We don’t start with a coat of arms.
We start with genealogy.
Our research process:
Trace the documented family line generation by generation
Identify geographic, social, and legal context
Determine whether arms were possible or historically plausible
Search the appropriate heraldic repositories
Document findings with citations and explanations
If arms exist, we explain who held them, when, and why.
If arms do not exist, we explain that too—and often uncover municipal, guild, or regional symbolism that still forms part of a family’s historical identity.
Why this matters
Heraldry follows rules.
Lineage matters.
And authenticity always beats assumption.
COADB genealogy packages are designed to answer the question honestly, with sources—not guesses.
If you’re curious whether your Czech or Slovak ancestors were armigerous, the answer starts with the family line.
That’s where we come in.
