Morbihan — Coat of Arms

Blazon

Per fess wavy Ermine and Azure.

Reading the shield

• Ermine — the upper half is the ermine of Brittany.
• Azure — the lower half is blue: the sea.
• Per fess wavy — the line between them is a wave.

The department takes its name from the Gulf of Morbihan — in Breton, mor bihan, the little sea. Its shield is the simplest possible picture of that name: Brittany above the water.

The arms are not official. They were proposed by the heraldist Robert Louis, who gave every French department a coat of arms in 1950, in Marques symboliques des départements français. They are not unused, though: the association of the department’s mayors bears them.

In October 2022 the department changed its visual identity, and for once the logo went back to the heraldry. The new logo, inspired by the arms, combines an ermine — the Breton emblem already present in the logos of neighbouring Ille-et-Vilaine and Finistère — with three blue waves for the origin of the department’s name and for the sea. It replaced the logo used since 2006.

Is the coat of arms of Morbihan official?

No. The arms, per fess wavy ermine and azure, were proposed by the heraldist Robert Louis and never officially adopted. The association of the department’s mayors uses them.

What does the coat of arms of Morbihan mean?

The ermine of Brittany above the blue of the sea, divided by a wave — a picture of the name Morbihan, the little sea in Breton.

Is the logo of Morbihan based on its coat of arms?

Yes. Since October 2022 the departmental logo, inspired by the arms, combines an ermine with three blue waves.

• French Wikipedia, Morbihan, section « Emblèmes » — the logos of 2006 and 2022, the proposed arms
• French Wikipedia, Armorial des départements de France — Robert Louis’s proposal, its meaning and its use by the association of mayors

The arms are described from the published blazon and the texts above, not from the drawing.

Last reviewed by the Emblema Mundi editorial team on 1 October 2026.