Many United States presidents have borne a coat of arms; largely through inheritance, assumption, or grants from foreign heraldic authorities.
The President of the United States, as a position, uses the presidential seal as a coat of arms, but this is a coat of arms of office, not a personal coat of arms.
Arms of presidents by century 18th century Arms Name of president and blazon Arms of George Washington, 1st president, 1789–1797
Shield: Argent, two bars and in chief three mullets gules
Crest: Out of a crest-coronet a raven rising wings elevated and addorsed proper
Motto: Exitus Acta Probat (The outcome is the test of the act)
See also: Washington family arms Arms of John Adams, 2nd president, 1797–1801
Shield: Gules, six crosses-crosslet fitchy argent, on a chief or three pellets, the center one charged with a fleur-de-lis and the other two with lions passant guardant argent
Crest: A lion passant holding in his dexter paw a cross-crosslet fitchy argent
Motto: Libertatem Amicitiam Retinebis, Et Fidem (Freedom and friendship thou shall preserve, and faith)
Connections to other presidents' arms: Same as the 4th (Boylston) quartering in the arms used by his son, John Quincy Adams
19th century Arms Name of president and blazon Arms of Thomas Jefferson, 3rd president, 1801–1809
Shield: Azure, a fret argent and on a chief gules three leopards' faces argent
Crest: A lion's head erased or
Motto: Ab Eo Libertas A Quo Spiritus (The one who gives life gives liberty) James Madison, 4th president, 1809–1817
Shield: Argent, two halberts in saltire sablewww.jmu.edu
Motto: Veritas non verba magistri (Truth, not the word of masters)James Monroe, 5th president, 1817–1825
No arms known Arms of John Quincy Adams, 6th president, 1825–1829
Shield: Quarterly: 1st argent, on a mount vert a stag trippant toward a pine tree, in base a codfish naiant on a sea all proper, overall thirteen stars in annulet azure (for Adams); 2nd sable, a fess cotised between three martlets or (for Smith); 3rd gules, seven mascles conjoined 3, 3, and 1 or (for Quincy); 4th gules, six crosses-crosslet fitchy argent, on a chief or three pellets, the center one charged with a fleur-de-lis and the outer two with lions passant guardant argent (for Boylston)
Crest: A lion passant holding in his dexter paw a cross-crosslet fitchy argent, langued and armed gules
Motto: Fidem Libertatem Amicitiam Retinebis (Faith, freedom and friendship thou shall preserve)
Connections to other presidents' arms: 4th (Boylston) quartering in the arms of his father, John AdamsAndrew Jackson, 7th president, 1829–1837
No arms known Arms of Martin Van Buren, 8th president, 1837–1841
Shield: Per pale or and gules, in dexter a greyhound rampant contourny and in sinister two bars embattled-counterembattled, all counterchanged
Crest: A greyhound rampant between two wings, the dexter gules, the sinister or Arms of William Henry Harrison, 9th president, 1841
Shield: Or, on a fess sable three eagles displayed or, a crescent sable for difference
Crest: An eagle's head erased or
Connections to other presidents' arms: Same arms as used by his grandson, Benjamin HarrisonJohn Tyler, 10th president, 1841–1845
No arms knownJames K. Polk, 11th president, 1845–1849
No arms known Crest of Zachary Taylor, 12th president, 1849–1850
Crest: A naked arm embowed holding an arrow proper
Motto: Consequitur Quodcumque Petit (Seize whatever follows)Millard Fillmore, 13th president, 1850–1853
No arms knownFranklin Pierce, 14th president, 1853–1857
No arms known Arms of James Buchanan, 15th president, 1857–1861
Shield: Or, a lion rampant sable armed and langued gules holding in his dexter paw a cap of honour turned up ermine surmounted by a rose gules, all within a double tressure flory-counterflory sable
Crest: A dexter Hand holding a Scimitar proper
Motto: Audacia Et Industria (By boldness and effort)Attributed by Burke's Landed Gentry of Ireland (1912) Arms of Abraham Lincoln, 16th president, 1861–1865
Shield: Or, a leopard rampant sable armed argent
Further information: Lincoln arms in Swanton Morley ChurchAndrew Johnson, 17th president, 1865–1869
No arms known Arms of Ulysses S. Grant, 18th president, 1869–1877
Shield: Gules, a chevron ermine between three fleurs-de-lys orA Genealogical History of the Descendants of Matthew Grant of Connecticut, Arthur Hastings Grant, Poughkeepsie Journal (1898)
Crest: A burning hill proper
Motto: Stand fastwww.usgrantlibrary.org Crest of Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president, 1877–1881
Crest: Upon an anvil a falcon rising proper
Motto: Recte (Right)
Additional motto: Qui Patriæ Optime Servit Optime Servit Suis Partibus (He who serves his party best serves his country best)
Clan: Hay Arms of James A. Garfield, 20th president, 1881
Shield: Or, three bars gules, on a canton ermine a cross paty gules
Crest: Issuant from a human heart a dexter hand holding a sword proper
Motto: In Cruce Vinco (In the cross I conquer) Arms of Chester A. Arthur, 21st president, 1881–1885
Shield: Gules, a chevron argent between three rests [clarions] or
Crest: A falcon rising proper belled and jessed or
Motto: Impelle Obstantia (Thrust aside obstacles) Arms of Grover Cleveland, 22nd and 24th president, 1885–1889 and 1893–1897
Shield: Per chevron sable and ermine, a chevron engrailed counterchanged
Crest: A demi-old man proper habited azure, on his head a cap gules turned up with hair front, holding in his dexter hand a spear, the head argent, on the top of which is fixed a line proper passing behind him and coiled up in his sinister hand
Motto: Semel Et Semper (Once and always)
Alternative mottoes: Pro Deo Et Patria (For God and country); Vincit Amor Patriæ (Love of country conquers) Arms of Benjamin Harrison, 23rd president, 1889–1893
Shield: Or, on a fess sable three eagles displayed or, a crescent sable for difference
Crest: An Eagle's Head erased or
Connections to other presidents' arms: Same as the arms used by his paternal grandfather, William Henry HarrisonWilliam McKinley, 25th president, 1897–1901
No arms known
20th century Arms Name of president and blazon Arms of Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president, 1901–1909
Shield: Argent, upon a grassy mound a rose bush proper bearing three roses gules barbed and seeded proper
Crest: Three ostrich plumes each per pale gules and argent
Motto: Qui Plantavit Curabit (He who planted will preserve)
Symbolism: The Roosevelt arms feature a rose bush in reference to the name: "Roosevelt", which is archaic Dutch for "rose field", making these an example of canting arms.
Connections to other presidents' arms: Similar to the arms used by his distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the primary difference being the depiction of a grassy mound in Theodore's armsWilliam Howard Taft, 27th president, 1909–1913
No arms knownWoodrow Wilson, 28th president, 1913–1921
No arms knownWarren G. Harding, 29th president, 1921–1923
No arms known Arms of Calvin Coolidge, 30th president, 1923–1929
Shield: Vert, a griffin segreant or
Crest: A demi-griffin segreant or
Motto: Virtute Et Fide (By valor and faith)
Note: Attributed by Henry Bond MD, no evidence Coolidge ever bore these armsHerbert Hoover, 31st president, 1929–1933
No arms knownArms of Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd president, 1933–1945
Shield: Argent, three roses one in pale and two in saltire gules, barbed, seeded, slipped, and leaved proper
Crest: Three ostrich plumes each per pale gules and argent
Motto: Qui Plantavit Curabit (He who planted will preserve)
Symbolism: The Roosevelt arms feature a rose bush in reference to the name: "Roosevelt", which is Dutch for "rose field", making these an example of canting arms.
Connections to other presidents' arms: Similar to the arms used by his distant cousin Theodore Roosevelt, which were differenced by the depiction of a grassy moundHarry S. Truman, 33rd president, 1945–1953
No arms known Arms of Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th president, 1953–1961
Shield: Or, an anvil azure
Crest: Five stars of five points conjoined as on the points of a pentagram argent
Motto: Peace Through Understanding
Foreign honors: The Bath Circlet encircled by the Collar of the Order of the Elephant surrounding the Shield and suspended below by its ribbon the insignia of the British Order of Merit
Symbolism: The anvil alludes to the German origin of his name: Eisenhauer, meaning "iron hewer". The five stars come from his rank insignia Eisenhower wore as a General of the Army during World War II.
Note: Adopted following being invested with the Order of the Elephant in 1950 Arms of John F. Kennedy, 35th president, 1961–1963
Shield: Sable, three helmets in profile or within a bordure per saltire gules and ermine
Crest: Between two Olive branches a Cubit sinister arm in armor erect, the hand holding a Sheaf of four Arrows, points upward, all proper
Symbolism: The Kennedy arms allude to their supposed descent from the O'Kennedys of Ormonde.
Note: Granted by the Chief Herald of Ireland in 1961 Arms of Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th president, 1963–1969
Shield: Azure, on a saltire gules fimbriated argent between four eagles displayed a mullet or
Crest: An armed hand argent supporting an eagle rising or
Motto: Nobilitatis virtus non stemma character (Virtue, not lineage, is the mark of nobility) Richard Nixon, 37th president, 1969–1974
No arms known Gerald Ford, 38th president, 1974–1977
No arms known Jimmy Carter, 39th president, 1977–1981
No arms known Arms of Ronald Reagan, 40th president, 1981–1989
Shield: Or, a bear rampant sable armed and langued gules holding between its forepaws a star argent, on a chief sable standing upon a ducal coronet or a falcon's wings displayed and inverted argent armed or and langued gules
Crest: A demi-horse forcené sable unguled or and charged on the shoulder with an actor's mask or
Motto: Facta non verba (Deeds, not words)
Foreign honors: Surrounding the Shield the Collar of the Order of the Bath George H. W. Bush, 41st president, 1989–1993
No arms proven
Foreign honors: The Collar of the Order of the Bath Arms of Bill Clinton, 42nd president, 1993–2001
Shield: Or, a lion rampant gules charged with three bars argent holding in the dexter paw an olive branch proper between in the dexter chief and sinister base a cross-crosslet fitchy sable and in the sinister chief and dexter base a shamrock slipped vert
Crest: An anchor erect azure, on the stock the letters SPES argent
Motto: An leon do bheir an chraobh (The lion carries away the branch)
Foreign honors: Surrounding the Shield the Collar of the Order of the White Lion
Note: Granted by the Chief Herald of Ireland in 1995
21st century Arms Name of president and blazon George W. Bush, 43rd president, 2001–2009
No arms proven Barack Obama, 44th president, 2009–2017
No arms known Arms of Donald Trump, 45th and 47th president, 2017–2021 and 2025–present
Shield: Argent ermined or, two chevronels couped between three demi-lions rampant.
Crest: A cubit arm argent enfiling a mascle and grasping a spear.
See also: Trump organization arms Joe Biden, 46th president, 2021–2025
No arms known
See also Armorial of the governors-general of Australia Armorial of the governors general of Canada Armorial of the governors-general of New Zealand Armorial of prime ministers of the United Kingdom List of personal coats of arms of vice presidents of the United States
Notes
References
External links
American Heraldry Society The Institute of Heraldry, Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army Arms of Famous Americans: Presidents of the United States