The Calvi Coat of Arms

[Lady Tchaikovsky]

Because of Pete's post, I think this actually deserves a separate thread.
So, here's the link to the crest: http://www.houseofnames.com/calvi-family-crest

I loved this: quite a bit rings a bell with me .... But thanks also for the link to the Calvi family crest: obviously these are commercial sites, intended to sell stuff to - particularly American - people who have, or liked to think they have, some family link, but this seems to have interesting and credible material. I had assumed that the family name had something to do with "skull" or "bald"(!) i.e. that it derived from the Latin calvus; there was a 1st century Roman poet called Licinius Calvus. But a derivation from the place name obviously makes sense, so we needn't worry that Anna will one day revert to her family type and go bald!

Haha, I know about "bald," but there's also a Latin verb calvor, calvī, which means "to deceive." This is an intriguing notion, but an unsettling one too.

Contemporary Notables of the name Calvi

    Roberto Calvi (1920-1982), Italian banker and financier, nicknamed "God's Banker" becasue of his close association with the Holy See
    Pino Calvi (1930-1989), Italian pianist, arranger and conductor
    Ignazio Calvi (1797-1872), Italian patriot and chess player
    Pompeo Calvi (1806-1884), Italian painter
    Ercole Calvi (1824-1900), Italian painter
    Anna Margaret Michelle Calvi (b. 1980), English musician
    Julius M. Calvi (1917-2009), American attorney and politician, Mayor North Adams, Massachusetts (1956-1958)

I know quite a bit about Roberto Calvi who was the chairman of Banco Ambrosiano and "commited suicide" (was murdered by the Mafia) in 1982. And I quite like Pompeo Calvi's paintings:

[MrCricket]

someone more arty than me needs to design Anna her own coat of arms. It will need peas, a basil plant, and possibly a guitar. Anyone up to it?

[Petefrombristol]

And a motto. You've totally got to have a motto