Coat of Arms & Family Crests Store
  Walters Coat of Arms / Walters Family CrestThe surname of WALTERS was a baptismal name 'the son of Walter'. This personal name was introduced into England in the reign of the Confessor - the name meaning mighty army. Early records of the name mention Walterus (without surname) was listed as a tenant in the Domesday Book of 1086. Edmund filius Walter of the County of Cambridgeshire in 1273. William Walters of the County of Staffordshire in 1327. Originally the coat of arms identified the wearer, either in battle or in tournaments. Completely covered in body and facial armour the knight could be spotted and known by the insignia painted on his shield, and embroidered on his surcoat, the draped garment which enveloped him. Between the 11th and 15th centuries it became customary for surnames to be assumed in Europe, but were not commonplace in England or Scotland before the Norman Conquest of 1066. They are to be found in the Domesday Book of 1086. Those of gentler blood assumed surnames at this time, but it was not until the reign of Edward II (1307-1327) that second names became general practice for all people. Later instances of the name include Charles Walter who registered at Oxford University in 1598 and John Walters and Grace Plumer were married at Canterbury in 1663. It was not until the 10th century that modern hereditary surnames first developed, and the use of fixed names spread, first to France, and then England, then to Germany and all of Europe. In these parts of Europe, the individual man was becoming more important, commerce was increasing and the exact identification of each man was becoming a necessity. Even today however, the Church does not recognise surnames. Baptisms and marriages are performed through use of the Christian name alone. Thus hereditary names as we know them today developed gradually during the 11th to the 15th century in the various European countries. Over the centuries, most people in Europe have accepted their surname as a fact of life, as irrevocable as an act of God. However much the individual may have liked or disliked the surname, they were stuck with it, and people rarely changed them by personal choice. A more common form of variation was in fact involuntary, when an official change was made, in other words, a clerical error. |
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