JerMc,

You are quite correct; in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, arms belong to the individual, and not everyone bearing that surname. An individual with arms is known as an "armiger". In Scotland, heraldric laws comes under the jurisdiction of the Lyon Court, whose chief officer is the Lord Lyon, who oversees all matter heraldic in Scotland. England & Wales have the College of Arms, Erie the College of Heraldry, but Scotland's heraldry laws are certainly the most strict when it comes to who can display arms. Other countries, like South Africa, Spain and Canada have their own Heraldic authorities.

But, I will stop there because we are digressing from tartans -- but the Chief's Crest Badge -- not technically a clan badge, since the device in the center of the badge is the Chief's Crest, i.e. the device above the helm on a coat-of-arms -- is proper for anyone bearing allegiance to that Clan & its Chief.

I used to presentations on heraldry for our genealogy department at the public library where I worked, so I'm kinda passionate about this subject! :mrgreen:

A final note: the crest makes up one part of a coat-of-arms. Beware of the "Bucket Shops" here in America peddling "family coats-of-arms", since there is no such thing.

Cheers,

T.