Historiography
The Kitts Coat of Arms illustrated above was drawn by a heraldic artist from information officially recorded in ancient heraldic archives. Documentation for the Kitts Coat of Arms design can be found in Rietstap Armorial General. Heraldic artists of old developed their own unique language to describe an individual Coat of Arms.
In their language, the Arms (shield) is as follows:
“D’arg. a la fasce de sa., acc. en chief d’une aigle naiss. de
gu., mouv. de la fasce, et en base de trois croix pattee de gu., 2 et 1.”
When translated the Arms description is:
“Silver: middle third black with a red eagle rising from the
middle into the upper third and in base three red pattee crosses 2 over 1.”
Above the shield and helmet is the Crest which is described as:
“Une tete et col d’aigle de gu.; entre un vol, d’arg. et de sa.,
chaque aile ch.de cinq tourt. de gu., 1 et 2, 2.”
A translation of the Crest description is:
“A red eagle’s head between two wings, silver and black.
on each wing is five red circles 1, 2, and 2.”
Family mottos are believed to have originated as battle cries in medieval times.
The Motto recorded with the Kitts Coat of Arms is:
“EX TENEBRIS AD LUMEN”
(literal translation: From The Darknesses To The Light)
Individual surnames originated for the purpose of more specific identification. The four primary sources for second names were: occupation, location, father’s name and personal characteristics. The surname Kitts appears to be occupational in origin, and probably associated with the Old High German word Kezzil meaning, “one who made or sold jugs, pottery.” Documents beginning in the late 1700s show the surname Götz, and variations, being used by the Kitts family of Virginia and Tennessee. Götz (pronounced “gets”) is a diminutive form of Gottfried, combining the German for "God" (Gott) and “peace" (fried). Thus, Götz appears to be a personal characteristic meaning “at peace with God” or “a good person.”
Different spellings of the same original surname are a common occurrence. Dictionaries of surnames as well as actual court documents indicate probable spelling variations. The most prominent variations of Kitts are Kitz, Ketts, Götz, Goetz, and Getz.