Colors and animals were, and are, used in coats of arms because they are used a symbols.
The plural of "coat of arms" is "coats of arms".
Coats of arms were used to identify individuals of high status on the battle field when they were otherwise unrecognizable in their armor.
Coats of arms do not themselves have surnames.
In the Middle Ages, coats of arms were used exclusively by the nobility on flags and armour. Fishermen would not have coats of arms.
Names do not have crests or coats of arms. Some individuals have coats of arms. Some families have crests; and some families of the same name do not.
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Coats of Arms belong to individuals, not to families.
Coats of arms generally follow the rules of Heraldry.
Heraldry.
http://estrada.bz/heraldry.htm
Coats of arms identify individuals, not families. As they are known today they were developed in medieval Europe. The Asian cultures developed other means of identifying nobles and other leaders on the battlefield.