Heraldry in the United States

This post continues our investigation into heraldry in the United States.

American Heraldry Societies

You might not expect heraldry to hold much ground in a nation founded without nobility. And yet, in the United States, several dedicated organizations continue to champion this ancient art’s study, preservation, and advancement. Heraldry in America has found new life—not through inherited titles or feudal customs, but through historical research, personal identity, and civic pride. At the center of this quiet yet passionate movement are four key institutions: the American Heraldry Society, the American College of Heraldry, the Committee on Heraldry of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, and the Augustan Society. Each of these organizations uniquely serves to preserve heraldic tradition on American soil.

The American Heraldry Society

Website – https://www.americanheraldry.org

Founded in the early 2000s, the American Heraldry Society is one of the most accessible and educational heraldic organizations in the U.S. Its primary mission is to promote proper heraldic practices in a nation without official authority. The society serves as a beacon for enthusiasts, genealogists, and historians interested in coats of arms, armorial bearings, and the proper use of heraldic symbols in a modern democratic context.

The Society maintains a growing database of American arms, hosts forums for discussion and inquiry, and offers guidelines on how Americans can design or claim heraldic arms within traditional frameworks. Its focus is scholarly yet welcoming, seeking to bring heraldry out of dusty tomes and into the modern imagination.

The American College of Heraldry

Website – https://americancollegeofheraldry.org

Established in 1972, the American College of Heraldry offers one of the most structured systems for registering arms in the United States. While it holds no governmental authority, the College provides a private and respected means of recognizing personal and organizational arms. It registers new arms (inherited, assumed, or newly designed), offers consultation on heraldic design, and promotes a high visual and symbolic integrity standard.

Unlike more academic groups, the College embraces heraldry as an evolving art form. It helps individuals create meaningful, attractive, and heraldically sound arms by providing certificates and official registration numbers that give personal arms a degree of dignity and formality without national regulation.

The Committee on Heraldry of the New England Historic Genealogical Society

Website – https://www.americanancestors.org/committee-heraldry

The Committee on Heraldry is the oldest heraldic body in the United States, dating back to 1864. Operating under the auspices of the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), this committee focuses on the authentication and publication of coats of arms rightfully borne by American colonists or immigrants before 1900.

Rather than registering new arms, the Committee’s mission is historical: to preserve a record of armorial bearings used by families with roots in early American history. Its landmark publication, A Roll of Arms, documents these arms in carefully researched and beautifully illustrated detail. For genealogists with colonial ancestry, this committee is a vital resource for connecting family history with heraldic heritage.

The Augustan Society

Website – https://www.augustansociety.org

Founded in 1957, the Augustan Society is a multifaceted organization devoted to heraldry and genealogy, nobility, orders of chivalry, and the study of historical cultures. Its heraldic arm registers coats of arms and fosters research into personal and dynastic symbolism, while the Society more broadly encourages scholarship in medieval and early modern studies.

What sets the Augustan Society apart is its depth and breadth. With a vast library of over 30,000 volumes, a long-running academic journal (The Augustan Omnibus), and an array of lineage-based and chivalric orders, it offers a home for those who see heraldry as part of a larger intellectual tradition. The Society’s approach combines profound scholarship with celebrating history, honor, and identity.