Coats of Arms

[Ánleifr]

Do Coats of Arms granted to ancestors of families hundreds of years ago or modern, new Coats of Arms issued still matter or mean anything in Europe?

[Mordid]

je Silesia

[Damião de Góis]

I would say no. A noble family of a certain surname would get a coat of arms given by the king. Hundreds of years later lots of people have the same surname, but the vast majority don't have anything to do with that particular family.