The Covington Coat of Arms illustrated left was drawn by an heraldic artist from information officially recorded in ancient heraldic archives. Documentation for the Covington Coat of Arms design can be found in Burke's General Armory. Heraldic artists of old developed their own unique language to describe an individual Coat of Arms. In their language, the Arms (shield) is as follows:

"An heraldic tiger ramp gut seem of estoiles armed and tufted or, supporting a tilting spear ppr."

When translated the blazen also describes the original colors of the Covington Arms and Crest as it appeared centuries ago.

Family mottos are believed to have originated as battle cries to medieval times. A Motto was recorded with this Covington Coat of Arms:

Individual surnames originated for the purpose of more specific identification. The four primary sources for second names were: occupation, location, father's name, or personal characteristics. The surname Covington appears to be locational in origin, and is believed to be associated with the English, meaning, "one who came from Covington (homestead of Cufa's people). in Huntingdonshire." The supplementary sheet included with this report is designed to give you more information to further your understanding of the origin of names. Different spellings of the same original surname are a common occurrence. Dictionaries of surnames indicate probable spelling variations of Covington to be Cufa, Cufas, Covi, Colbaynstoun, Colbanus, Colbeynston, Coving, Coveing, Covingtoun, Covingtoune, and Covingtons. Although bearers of the old and distinguished Covington name comprise a small fraction of the population there are a number who have established for it a significant place in history. They include: COVINGTON (Colbanus) was a witness to the charter, that was made by the Earl, David in c. 1120, which was for the foundation of the Abbey of Selkirk; was later changed to the Abbey of Kelso. In 1297, a "Royal Message" was sent by Edward the First of England to a WILLIAM de COVINGTON (Colbeynston), and in 1304, SIR JOHN de COVINGTON (Colbeynston), held a successful farm in the Barony of Colbeynston, for the King. JAMES HARRY COVINGTON (1870-1942 lawyer who contracted from 1894 to 1903 his interests began to run toward the field of politics; was soon elected Stat's Attorney; became a Representative of Congress; and, held the position of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for several years. LEONARD COVINGTON (1768-1820) American Army officer who served under General George Washington. After the year 1795, he was elected a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, and between 1805 and 1809, was a member of the U.S. House; in 1810, he was recalled, by President Jefferson, into the service of the Army; and, in 1813, was mortally wounded while serving in the Battle of Chryslers Field. HARRY STOCKWELL COVINGTON (1892-1950) American banker and politician who was born in Kentucky where that State's second largest city bears the Covington family name; for his excellent and loyal services, while a civilian, during the First and Second World War's, he was awarded several citations by the Armed Forces.

Until about 1100 A.D. most people in Europe had only one name (This is still true in some primitive counties today). As the population increased it became awkward to live in a village wherein perhaps 1/3 of the males were named John, another sizable percentage named William, and so forth.

Ans so, to distinguish one John from another a second name was needed. There were four primary sources for these second names. They were: a man's occupation, his location, his father's name or some peculiar characteristic of his. Here are some examples.

Occupation: The local house builder, food preparer, grain grinder and suit maker would be named respectively: John Carpenter, John Cook, John Miller, and John Taylor.

Location: The John who lived over the hill became known as John Overhill, the one who dwelled near a stream might be dubbed John Brook or perhaps John Atbrook.

Patronymical: (father's name): Many of these surnames can be recognized by the termination --- son, such as Williamson, Jackson, etc. Some endings used by other counties to indicate "son" are: Armenian's --- ian, Dane's and Norwegian's --- sen, Finn's --- nen, Greek's --- pullos, Spaniard's --- ez, and Pole's --- wiecz. Prefixes denoting "son" are the Welsh --- ap, the Scot's and Irish --- Mac, and the Norman's --- Fitz. The Irish O' incidentally denotes grandfather.

Characteristic: An unusually small person might be labeled Small, Short, Little or Lytle. A large man might be named Longfellow, Large, Lang, or Long. Many persons having characteristics of a certain animal would be given the animal's name. Examples: a sly person might be named Fox; a good swimmer, Fish; a quiet man, Dove; etc.

In addition to needing an extra name for identification, one occupational group found it necessary to go a step further. The fighting man: The fighting man of the Middle Ages wore a metal suit of armor for protection. Since this suit of armor included a helmet that completely covered the head, a knight in full battle dress was unrecognizable. To prevent friend from attacking friend during the heat of battle, it became necessary for each knight to somehow identify himself. Many knights accomplished this by painting colorful patterns on their battle shields. These patterns were also woven into cloth surcoats which were worn over a suit of armor. Thus was born the term, "Coat of Arms."

As this practice grew more popular, it became more and more likely that two knights unknown to each other might be using the same insignia. To prevent this, records were kept that granted the right to a particular patter to a particular knight. His family also shared his right to display these arms. In some instances, these records have been preserved and/or compiled into book form. The records list the family name and an exact description of the "Coat of Arms" granted to that family.

Interest in heraldry is increasing daily. This is especially true among people who have a measure of family pride and who resent attempts of our society to reduce each individual to a series of number stored somewhere in a computer. In our matter-of-fact day and age, a "Coat of Arms" is one of the rare devices remaining that can provide an incentive to preserve our heritage. We hope you'll agree that it is much more than just a wall decoration.

If you are interested in a more in-depth study of the subject of this paper, may we suggest you contact the genealogical department of any fair-sezed public library. We especially recommend the "Dictionary of American Family Names" published by Harper and Row and also "The Surnames of Scotland" available from the New York Public Library as excellent sources on the meaning of surnames.

Nancy L. Halbert