Murray: Name Study

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Coat-of-Arms

The descendants of John Murray do not as yet have a coat-of-arms. There are indeed certain Murrays in possession of "their own arms", but by far the most coats-of-arms in South Africa have been falsified by unscrupulous dealers and palmed off as "genuine" arms to unsuspecting family members.

Any individual is free to apply to have arms exclusively designed for him or her, but should not approach the first best heraldic designer for a coat-of-arms.

Dealers are of course just to eager to provide all and sundry with his or her own, exclusive arms, then merely draws up his own design offering it as the real thing.

Before a coat-of-arm is requested, those interested should first make enquiries at the South African Bureau of Heraldry.

About 90% of South Africans will be surprised to hear that their families have never possessed arms. And whosoever do have arms, 9 out of 10 will have false arms. In 1989 there were allegedly more than 42 000 falsified coats-of-arms in circulation, which were sold by dealers to uninformed clients. Therefore be warned.

Morayshire

Here is the emblem (coat of arms) of the "Province of Moray". One might assume that this was the basis or standard upon which the Murrays based their coats of arms over the years. The Golden Crown, Blue Shield and Three White (Five Pointed) Stars are the main features of the Murray coat of arms, with variations to identify the various groups

Province of Moray

Depiction from BARTHOLOMEW's Scotland of Old. Clan Names Map. The Lands, The Arms and the Crests.

Tartan

The John Murray Family of South Africa apparently has no exclusive tartan of its own, but in Scotland, there are two tartans traditionally worn by the Murrays of Atholl, and the Murrays of Tullibardine. The Atholl consists of a green background with broad horizontal and vertical bands of purplish blue running across the green background. A thin line of red also runs horizontally and vertically across the design.

Een van die Murray-tartans

(c) Peter Murray, 2005. Last updated 2008-01-12. http://www.murray.za.net/naam-e.html