Polish heraldry is a distinct system characteristic of the Polish nobility (szlachta). It originated from the medieval clans of knights and warriors who provided military service to the monarch or regional dukes. Unlike many Western European heraldic traditions, where a coat of arms is usually tied to a single family line, the Polish system is built upon the heraldic clan.

With few exceptions, all families belonging to the same heraldic clan bear an identical coat of arms. In the Polish language, the term herb refers simultaneously to the heraldic device itself and the corporate identity of the clan. This collective ownership meant that hundreds of families, often with different surnames and residing in disparate regions, could share the same armorial bearings and clan name.^{[citation needed]}

A Polish heraldic clan historically comprised individuals sharing common heraldic traditions, though its precise definition remains a subject of academic debate. Unlike the Scottish clan system, which is typically defined by territoriality and direct consanguinity, the Polish ród is often characterized by historians as a "knightly fraternity" or a military union of knights (brotherhood).

Under this system, numerous distinct and often unrelated families belonged to the same clan, granting them the collective right to use a single coat of arms. Historiographical debate persists regarding whether the origins of these clans were rooted in genuine kinship or evolved from artificial social structures. This distinction is central to understanding the historical development of the Polish nobility and the legal foundations of their privileged social status.

In the year 1244, Bolesław, Duke of Masovia, identified members of the knights' clan as members of a genealogia:

"I received my good servitors [Raciborz and Albert] from the land of [Great] Poland, and from the clan [genealogia] called Jelito, with my well-disposed knowledge [i.e., consent and encouragement] and the cry [vocitatio], [that is], the godło, [by the name of] Nagody, and I established them in the said land of mine, Masovia, [on the military tenure described elsewhere in the charter]."

The earliest surviving documentation of Polish clan names and battle cries as markers of knightly status dates to the tenure of Raciborz and Albert in the mid-13th century. These names and cries functioned to ritualize the ius militare (the right to command an army) and were used to define noble status prior to 1244.^[1]

While these oral traditions were established early, the association of specific knightly genealogiae (lineages) with physical heraldic devices did not occur until later in the Middle Ages and into the early modern period. Unlike Western European heraldry, Polish coats of arms possess individual names, typically derived from the original battle cry or the imagery depicted on the shield.

Although attachment to a clan lineage remained a significant aspect of the Polish noble consciousness, its role from the 17th to the 20th century was largely ceremonial and symbolic. In daily life, the sense of belonging to a specific family house typically predominated over clan affiliation. This distinction is evidenced by the organization of most Polish armorials, which are generally arranged by family name rather than by heraldic device.

The social and legal standing of the Polish nobility underwent significant changes during the Partitions of Poland. Under the administration of the partitioning powers (Russia, Prussia, and Austria), the nobility were required to provide formal proof of their status to imperial heraldry offices.

Among the poorer nobility, the process of legitimation often led to the accidental or deliberate misidentification of ancestral arms. Consequently, branches of the same family were occasionally registered under different coats of arms.^[2]

During this era, magnate families and some landowners sought and obtained titles of nobility such as prince, count, or baron from foreign monarchs, the French Empire, or the Papacy. These titles were often accompanied by "improved" or varied versions of the family's original coat of arms.^[3]

This is a list of the coats of arms of Polish heraldic clans by their most common names.^[4]

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  Herb Rzeczpospolitej Obojga Narodow
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  Herb Abdank (Awdaniec)
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  Herb Achinger
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  Herb Aksak
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  Herb Alabanda
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  Herb Allan
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  Herb Amadej
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  Herb Antoniewicz
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  Herb Azulewicz
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  Herb Bajbuza
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  Herb Bawola-Głowa
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  Herb Belina
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  Herb Bełty
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  Herb Beztrwogi
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  Herb Białynia
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  Herb Biberstein
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  Herb Boenisch
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  Herb Bogorya (Bogoria)
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  Herb Bogoria, odmiana II
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  Herb Bogusz
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  Herb Bojcza
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  Herb Boncza
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  Herb Borch (Trzy-Kawki, Trzy-Kruki)
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  Herb Boreyko
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  Herb Bożawola
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  Herb Brama
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  Herb Brochwicz
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  Herb Brodzic
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  Herb Bronic
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  Herb Brzuska
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  Herb Chalecki
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  Herb Charyton
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  Herb Chłędowski
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  Herb Chodkiewicz
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  Herb Cholewa
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  Herb Choryński
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  Herb Cielątkowa
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  Herb Cieleski
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  Herb Ciężosił
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  Herb Ciołek
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  Herb Czartoryski (Pogoń Litewska odmiana)
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  Herb Czewoja
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  Herb Dąb
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  Herb Dąbrowa
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  Herb Dąbrowski (Dołęga odmiana)
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  Herb Dębno
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  Herb Dęboróg
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  Herb Deszpot
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  Herb Dołęga
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  Herb Doliwa
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  Herb Drogosław
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  Herb Druck
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  Herb Drużyna
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  Herb Drya
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  Herb Drya IV
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  Herb Drzewica
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  Herb Działosza
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  Herb Dzik
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  Herb Erbs
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  Herb Essen
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  Herb Estken
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  Herb Felseis
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  Herb Finke
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  Herb Fleming
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  Herb Fogelfeder
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  Herb Fornalski
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  Herb Fornalski (Orlica odm.)
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  Herb Giejszt
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  Herb Giejsztor
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  Herb Giełgud
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  Herb Gierałt
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  Herb Ginwiłł
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  Herb Glinski
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  Herb Godziemba
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  Herb Gozdawa (Dzierżoń, Dervan)
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  Herb Gozdawa
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  Herb Grabie
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  Herb Groty
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  Herb Gryf (Świeboda)
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  Herb Gryf II (Pomerania)
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  Herb Grzymała
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  Herb Gutak
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  Herb Gwiazdy
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  Herb Gwiaździcz
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  Herb Hejking
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  Herb Hełm
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  Herb Herburt
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  Herb Hilchen
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  Herb Hilzen
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  Herb Hipocentaur
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  Herb Hodyc
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  Herb Hołownia
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  Herb Hołownia II
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  Herb Hornowski
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  Herb Hozyusz
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  Herb Husarzewski
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  Herb Hutor
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  Herb Jakimowicz
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  Herb Janina
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  Herb Jasieńczyk
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  Herb Jastrzębiec
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  Herb Jelita (Koźlarogi, Koźlerogi, Nagody)
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  Herb Jeż
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  Herb Jodzieszko
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  Herb Junosza
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  Herb Kalinowa
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  Herb Karęga
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  Herb Karnicki I
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  Herb Karnicki II
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  Herb Karp
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  Herb Kierdeja
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  Herb Klamry
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  Herb Komar
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  Herb Kopacz
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  Herb Kopaszyna
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  Herb Korab
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  Herb Korczak
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  Herb Korczyk
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  Herb Kordysz
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  Herb Korsak
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  Herb Korwin (Ślepowron odmiana)
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  Herb Korybut
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  Herb Kościesza
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  Herb Kostrowiec I
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  Herb Kostrowiec II
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  Herb Kot-Morski
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  Herb Kotwica
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  Herb Kotwicz
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  Herb Kownia
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  Herb Kozłowski
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  Herb Krak (Druk, Kač)
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  Herb Krak II (Druk, Kač)
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  Herb Kronwald
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  Herb Kruzer
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  Herb Krynicki
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  Herb Kryszpin
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  Herb Krzywda
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  Herb Księżyc
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  Herb Kujk
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  Herb Kulikowski
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  Herb Kułak
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  Herb Kur
• 
  Herb Kur II
• 
  Herb Kusza
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  Herb Kuszaba
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  Herb Łabędź (Dunin)
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  Herb Lachnicki
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  Herb Larysza
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  Herb Leliwa
• 
  Herb Leszczyc
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  Herb Lis
• 
  Herb Łodzia
• 
  Herb Lubicz
• 
  Herb Łuk
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  Herb Mądrostki
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  Herb Masalski ks. III
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  Herb Miller
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  Herb Mogiła
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  Herb Nabram
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  Herb Nałęcz
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  Herb Nieczuja
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  Herb Niesobia
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  Herb Niszcz
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  Herb Nowina
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  Herb Odrowąż
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  Herb Odwaga
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  Herb Odyniec
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  Herb Ogończyk
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  Herb Oksza
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  Herb Orda
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  Herb Orla
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  Herb Osek
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  Herb Ossoliński (Topór)
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  Herb Ossorya
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  Herb Ostoja (medieval)
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  Herb Ostoja
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  Herb Ostroga
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  Herb Ostrogski
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  Herb Pernus (Sperun, Spyra)
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  Herb Piast (Kołodziej)
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  Herb Piast
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  Herb Pierzchała (Sperski)
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  Herb Pilawa
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  Herb Piłsudski
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  Herb Pobóg
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  Herb Pogoń Litewska
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  Herb Pogoń Ruska
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  Herb Półkozic
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  Herb Pomian
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  Herb Poraj
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  Herb Poronia
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  Herb Pół Orła
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  Herb Późniak
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  Herb Prus I
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  Herb Pus II (Wilczekosy)
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  Herb Prus III
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  Herb Przegonia
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  Herb Przerowa
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  Herb Przyjaciel
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  Herb Puchała
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  Herb Radwan
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  Herb Radzislaw
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  Herb Radziwiłł (Trąby odmiana)
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  Herb Rawicz
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  Herb Roch III
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  Herb Rogala
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  Herb Rola
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  Herb Rozmiar
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  Herb Samson
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  Herb Sapieha (Lis odmiana)
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  Herb Sas
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  Sas II
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  Herb Siekierz
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  Herb Skarbomierz
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  Herb Ślepowron (Bujno, Korwin)
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  Herb Sokoła
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  Herb Sołtyk
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  Herb Starykoń
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  Herb Straszyński
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  Herb Strzemię
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  Herb Suchekomnaty
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  Herb Sulima
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  Herb Świąt
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  Herb Świeńczyc
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  Herb Świerczek
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  Herb Świnka
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  Herb Syrokomla
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  Herb Szeliga
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  Herb Szembek
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  Herb Szreniawa
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  Herb Tarnawa
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  Herb Tępa-Podkowa
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  Herb Topór
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  Herb Trąby
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  Herb Trestka
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  Herb Trójstrzał
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  Herb Trzaska
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  Herb Trzy-Gwiazdy
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  Herb Trzywdar
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  Herb Wadwicz
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  Herb Waga
• 
  Herb Warnia
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  Herb Wąż
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  Herb Wczele
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  Herb Wieniawa
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  Herb Wierzbna
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  Herb Wilcza-Głowa
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  Herb Wolf
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  Herb Wysocki (Pierzchała/Ostoja)
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  Herb Wyssogota
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  Herb Zabawa
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  Herb Zadora
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  Herb Zagłoba
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  Herb Zaremba
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  Herb Zerwikaptur
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  Herb Zetynian
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  Herb Zgraja (Janina odmiana)
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  Herb Zych (Záh)
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  Herb Zychcki (Drzewica II)
• 
  Prawdzic

• 
  Duke of Masovia Janusz I of Warsaw (c.1340 – 1429)
• 
  Prince Józef Antoni Poniatowski coat of arms as Marshal of France
• 
  Alexandre Joseph Count Colonna-Walewski coat of arms of the French empire
• 
  Lech Wałęsa personal granted coat of arms by the Kingdom of Sweden

• Polish heraldry
• Polish name
• Polish clans
• Szlachta
• History of Poland

• Tadeusz Gajl, "Herby szlacheckie Rzeczypospolitej Obojga Narodow", Gdansk, 2003, ISBN 83-88595-12-1
• Polish Coats of Arms listing Archived 2006-11-08 at the Wayback Machine (Polish)
• Armorial
• J. Lyčkoŭski. "Belarusian Nobility Coats of Arms". (in English)
• Górecki, Piotr (1992), Economy, Society, and Lordship in Medieval Poland: 1100–1250, New York, NEW YORK: Holmes and Meier Publishers, Inc., ISBN 0-8419-1318-8, OCLC 25787903

• Polish coats of arms - a full list of Polish coats of arms
• Herbarz szlachty Rzeczypospolitej - Polish noble families, coats of arms and pictures
• Herbarz – list of Polish coats of arms, black and white reproductions