Canting
arms, as stated in Webster 1913, are arms that make reference to the bearer's name. They are also called
punning arms, but there is no humorous intention in them. They have always been quite common.
The Queen Mother's family name is Bowes-Lyon, and her family bear a shield quarterly with bows and lions.
Spain was formed from earlier kingdoms including Castile and Leon; these bore castles and lions.
Shakespeare's father John Shakespeare was granted arms, thereby making the playwright (a) a gentleman and (b) not an upstart but one who had inherited gentility. These arms include a spear diagonally.