Creating the Virgil Achievement of Arms

I’ve always been curious about where I come from, and when I started exploring my family history, I found myself drawn to the idea of a coat of arms. It felt like more than just an old symbol—it was a key to my heritage. Knowing that my ancestors might have carried a unique emblem gave me a deeper sense of identity and pride. As I dug into the history, it became a gateway into my genealogy, helping me trace names, places, and stories I never knew existed.

What fascinated me most was how personal heraldry could be. Even if my family didn’t have an official coat of arms, I realized I could design one that reflected our values, our origins, and what we stand for. It’s like telling our story in symbols. There’s something powerful about creating a legacy—something I could pass down, something that makes our family history visible and lasting.

At the same time, learning about heraldry connected me to the broader scope of history. I immersed myself in the meanings of colors and symbols, the traditions of various cultures, and the artistry involved. A genuine sense of pride accompanies this—knowing that my family, in some small way, is part of a larger story.

I mentioned that, but I have not found my Virgil/Virgin arms. Before I go on, let me explain the dual surnames. Virgil is a surname all the children of William Virgin adopted during the Revolutionary War. (You can read about it in my book Abijah and the Revolutionary War, for sale on Amazon.)  So, going back to medieval times, I would need to search for Virgin, not Virgil.

I did search for coats of arms on various websites. Most of these are what are known as ‘bucket shops’. For instance, one shop that shall remain unnamed presented me with a nice-looking achievement for ‘Virgil’. I received the same achievement by entering the name ‘Virgin.’ I would recommend staying away from these shops. Some are listed with addresses in the UK, and most are trying to exploit your ignorance.

I found one website interesting: https://coadb.com. They have a coat of arms database, and you can enter your surname and see if you get a hit. I entered Virgil and Virgin and got no hits. The database lets you search surnames by clicking on the first letter and then paging through the listings. I found four variants of Virgil and none for Virgin.

The four were Virgile, Virgili, Virgilio, Virgille. You can view these in the database if you wish. The following information originates in the Coadb database.

Virgile has two distinct arms, both French coats of arms. The first is from the Lorraine region in northeastern France, which borders Germany, Luxembourg, and Belgium. The second is from the Languedoc and Forez regions of France. Languedoc is in southern France, roughly aligning with the modern regions of Occitanie and parts of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. At the same time, Forez is located in central France, within the modern Loire department of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.

Virgili is Italian, but no specific region is provided. Virgilio is also Italian and is identified as being located in Sicily. The last one, Virgille, is from France, specifically the Picardie region, which stretches from the English Channel inland toward the Paris basin in Northern France.

The lessons learned here are two. First, your surname may have changed over time, so look for variants. Secondly, recording the location is important as it provides an area to focus your genealogical search for ancestors.