Contrary to popular myth, families do not have coats of arms. Individuals do.

According to custom (law is some countries) any man can draw or have drawn a coat of arms to represent him, then register it with the government or other registering organization. It then can be inherited by male descendants who bear his last name or any future variant of the last name.

Arms also can be "granted" by a government or monarch, though there is no provision for this in the United States, where coats of arms have no legal standing unless they are registered as commercial trademarks.

During his genealogical researches in Europe in the 1910s, Henry Lane Eno found this coat of arms recorded in official records at Valenciennes, France, birthplace of the modern Eno family. He interpreted it as the "family" coat of arms, evidently not realizing that it is only one of several associated with ancient Enos. 

Hopefully, Henry's genealogy was better than his heraldry: The coat isn't even reproduced correctly in his book The Eno Family: New York Branch (1923). The "blazon" or heraldic description of the coat of arms puts two "estoiles d'or" or gold starfish in the "chief" or top of the shield. Whoever drew the arms in the book put five-pointed stars (or "mullets") instead.

As likely as not, this coat belonged to an Eno ancestor of our line, so it technically could be used by any modern Eno male of our line.

The symbolism is interesting: The coat of arms has clear Norman characteristics. The chevron often denoted military or government service. Many crusaders adopted the half-moon symbol. The estoiles often meant a sea journey or two.

On the other hand, the symbols or "charges" on a shield just as often were picked because they looked cool.

Because the names "Henno" and "Hainaut" are so similar, the evidently high social standing of our 15th century ancestors and their home in or near Hainaut's capital, there has been some speculation that their ancestors were the counts of Hainaut.

That's always possible, of course, but we have no solid evidence of it. 

Before European last names became common in the 15th century, people were just "Peter Son of John" or "Joan of Clairvaux." As modern commerce, legal systems and nation states developed, there was a great need for more accurate identification. So, eventually, we became "Peter Johnson" or "Joan Clairvaux," and the names passed to our children.

Many "plain Jane" families just took their names from where they lived. 

Ironically, those of us with Courtenay connections really are descended from the counts of Hainaut, who originally came from the Luxembourg area and whose family name was d'Avesnes.

From our limited contacts with them, they seem to be descended from the same Norman roots we are, but via a very different route, as it were.

Paul designed this coat of arms for himself some years ago, and it is registered with the American College of Heraldry.

As you can see, some of the symbolism is taken from the far older Hennot coat of arms. The crescent moon and chevron derive from that -- and from Paul's military service (though he assures us he didn't serve in the Crusades.)

The backward-looking lion denotes the family's ancient royal links (Paul is a Courtenay descendant) and the "canton" or square in the upper left symbolizes Paul's career as a writer and editor.

The helmet is a common decoration in any coat of arms, and the bird crest symbolizes Paul's love of birds and nature. The motto is Latin and means "The Gods (or Fate) Will Find a Way."

The colors represent his academic training: blue for philosophy and gold for theology.