There are many groups of flags that share a lineage or design feature. Here is where you can find flags associated with some of the more notable flag families.
For many people reading this article, the Russian tricolor may seem like a new design crafted after the fall of the Soviet Union. In reality, it is among some of the oldest flag designs. The true origins of Russia’s white, red, and blue tricolor are a bit of a mystery. The flag was first hoisted in an official … More Russia and the Soviet Union
Despite being relatively young as far as flags go, the Ugandan flag is a unique and striking design that holds its own against some of the classic national flag designs. And even though Uganda’s national history is a complicated one, the history of it’s flag is relatively simple. Uganda got its first flag in 1914 while … More Uganda: Ornithological influence
Today, nothing seems more Irish than green and orange. But this wasn’t always the case. In fact, Ireland’s first Tricolor could be considered its most famous import. But before we dig into either of these, we should first examine another Irish symbol: the harp. The Gaelic Harp has been an important symbol in Ireland since … More Ireland: A gift from France
There’s more than meets the eye to Latvia’s flag. What looks like a simple triband flag is actually quite a unique design with medieval roots. While the flag wasn’t officially approved until 1922, evidence of the flag’s use stems back to the 13th century. The Rhymed Chronicle of Livonia, a record detailing the history of Latvia and … More Latvia: A return from exile
In the grand scheme of history, the concept of a national flag as we know it is relatively new. By the time that most countries had picked their flags, record keeping had become standard practice. This makes tracing the history behind a national flag relatively easy in a lot of cases. However, there are some flags whose history and … More Isle of Man: Mystery of the triskele
Hong Kong is a very interesting place for many reasons. It operates almost completely autonomously as a capitalist state even though it is a part of the communist People’s Republic of China (PRC); it has the fourth greatest population density per square mile of any country or territory in the world; and it has a great example of modern flag … More Hong Kong: One country, two systems
While Sri Lanka didn’t officially have a national flag until 1815, the roots of its flag, the lion imagery, are some of the oldest in the vexillological world. The lion symbolism was brought to Sri Lanka by Vijaya, Sri Lanka’s first king. Vijaya came to the island in 486 BC with 700 followers after being expelled from the Vanga … More Sri Lanka: Royal outcast
Germany is a world leader in many categories, such as finance, manufacturing, and sports (Mia san mia!). However, this has not always been true, as Germany has been through many periods of struggle, occupation, and war. Almost all of these periods have had a unique flag to represent them. Germany has had two prevalent color schemes throughout its existance; … More Germany: A renewed pride
Flags and boats have had a close relationship for several centuries. At sea, flags have many uses, from communication to identification, even threatening others. In fact, our concept of national flags stems from 17th century sailing ships (as explained in A brief history of flags and why we use them). However, the world of maritime flags isn’t as … More Ensigns, jacks, and more: A primer on maritime flags
South Africa’s current flag was introduced in 1994. In it’s short life, it has become arguably one of the most well known African flags. As we will explore, however, this design was only meant to be a placeholder. South Africa’s first flag was flown in 1910 when the British united the Natal, Cape, Transvaal, and Orange … More South Africa: A new classic
Fun Flag Facts 