Historiography
The Stubbs Coat of Arms illustrated above was drawn by an heraldic artist from information officially recorded in ancient heraldic archives. Documentation for the Stubbs Coat of Arms design can be found in Rietstap Armoial 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:

When translated the blazon also describes the original colors of the Stubbs Arms and Crest as it appeared centuries ago.
Family mottos are believed to have originated as battle cries in medieval times. A Motto was not recorded with the Stubbs Coat of Arms.
Individual surnames originated for the purpose of more specific identification. The four primary sources for second names were: occupation, location, father's name, or personal characteristics. The surname Stubbs appears to be locational in origin, and is believed to be associated with the meaning, "one who lived near a prominent tree stump." The supplementary sheet included with this report is designed to give you more information to further your understanding of the origin of names. Different spellings of the same original surname are a common occurrence. Dictionaries of surnames indicate probable spelling variations of Stubbs,to be Stubb, and Stubbe. Although bearer's of the old and distinguished Stubbs name comprise a small fraction of the population there are a number who have established for it a significant place in history. They include: JOHN STUBBS (1543-1591) English Pamphleteer and devote Puritan. Wrote a pamphlet describing his disgust for the marriage of Queen Elizabeth to the Duke of Anjou. For this work he waas imprisioned for eighteen months plus he lost his right hand. He still proclaimed his loyalty to his Queen and his country. GEORGE STUBBS (1724-1806) English painter who studied and lectured at the York Hospital. He spent several years dissecting and studying the horse. Published "The Anatomy of the Horse", in which all the plates were drawn and engraved by himself. Painted dogs and horses for many people throughout England, and was elected to the Association of the Royal Academy. Many of his works can be seen in the National Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum. WILLIAM STUBBS (1825-1901) English historian, and Vicar of Navestock, Essex. He was the Regius Professor of modern history at Oxford, and Bishop of Chester. Author of "Constitutional History of England".and "Select Charters."
No genealogical representation is intended or implied by this report and it does not represent individual lineage or your family tree.
Until about 1100 A.D. most people in Europe had only one name (This is still true in some primitive countries today). As the population increased it became awkward to live in a village wherein perhaps 1/3 of the males were named John, another sizable percentage named William, and so forth. And so, to distinguish one John from another a second name was needed. There were four primary sources for these second names. They were: a man's occupation, his location, his faather's name or some peculiar characteristic of his.
Here are some examples.
Occupation: The local house builder, food preparer, grain grinder and suit maker would be named respectively: John Carpenter, John Cook, John Miller, and John Taylor.
Location: The John who lived over the hill became known as John Overhill, the one who dwelled near a stream might be dubbed John Brook or perhaps John Atbrook.
Patronymical (father's name):Many of these surnames can be recognized by the termination-son, such as Williamson, Jackson, etc. Some endings used by other countries to indicate "son" are: Armenian - ian, Danish and Norwegian - sen, Finnish - nen, Greek - pulos, Spanish - ez and Polish - wiecz. Prefixes denoting "son" are the Welsh - Ap, the Scotch & Irish - Mac and the Norman - Fitz. The Irish O' incidentally denotes grandfather.
Characteristics: An unusually small person might be labeled Small, Short, Little or Lytle. A large man might be namd Large, Long, Lang or Longfellow. Many persons having characteristics of a certain animal would be given the animal name. Examples: A sly person might be named Fox, a filthy person - Hogg, a good swimmer - Fish etc.
In addition to needing aan extra name for identification, one occupational group found it necessary to go a step further. The fighting man: The fighting man of the middle ages wore a metal suit of armor for protection. Since this suit of armor included a helmet that completely covered the head, a knight in full battle dress was unrecognizable. To prevent friend from attacking friend during the heat of battle it became necessary for each knight to somehow identify himself. Many knights accomplished this by painting colorful patterns on their shields. These patterns were also woven into cloth surcoats which were worn over a suit of armor, Thus was born the term "coat-of-arms".
As this practice grew more popular, it became more and more likely that two knights unknown to each other might be using the same insignia. To prevent this, records were kept that granted the right to a particular pattern to a perticular knight. His family also shared his right to display these arms. In some instances, these records have been preserved and/or compiled into book form. The records list the family name and an exact description of the coat-of-arms granted to that family.
Interest in heraldry is increasing daily. This is especially true among people who have a measure of family pride and who resent attempts of our society to reduce each individual to a series of numbers stored somewhere in a computer. In our matter-of-fact day and age, a coat-of-arms is one of the rare devices remaining that can provide an incentive tp preserve our heritage.
If you are interested in a more in-depth study on this subject you can contact the genealogical department at your library. Ask for the "Dictionary of American Family Names" published by Harper and Row, also "The Surnames of Scotland" Available from the New York Public Library.