Flag of Maryland

What the Maryland state flag looks like

The Maryland state flag is divided into four quarters. The first and fourth quarters, at the upper hoist and lower fly, show the arms of the Calvert family: vertical bands alternating gold and black, crossed by a diagonal band in reversed colors. The second and third quarters, at the upper fly and lower hoist, show the arms of the Crossland family: a red and white cross bottony, a cross whose arms end in three-lobed, clover-like tips, set in reversed colors on a quartered red and white field.

The result is a busy, colorful flag with no seal, lettering or stars. It is often named one of the most distinctive flags in the country. Four colors appear in the design: black, gold, red and white.

Maryland flag meaning and symbolism

The flag is a family emblem rather than a collection of symbols. The gold and black pattern belongs to George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, and to his son Cecil Calvert, who as the 2nd Lord Baltimore received the charter for the colony of Maryland in 1632 and sent the first settlers in 1634. The red and white cross comes from the arms of the Crossland family, the family of George Calvert's mother, Alicia Crossland. Together they form the arms of Lord Baltimore, who owned the colony.

The flag has no official explanation for its colors, which come from the heraldic blazons of the two families. The state's motto, Fatti maschi, parole femmine, usually translated as "Manly deeds, womanly words," is on the state seal but not on the flag.

History of the Maryland flag

Maryland was founded as a proprietary colony of the Calvert family, whose arms were used as the colony's emblem. The two family patterns came to be combined on one banner later. The Civil War played a part: Maryland was a border state with divided loyalties, and the black-and-gold Calvert pattern and the red-and-white Crossland cross were reportedly favored by opposing sides. After the war, flying them together became a symbol of reconciliation.

The combined flag came into use in the 1880s and grew in popularity around 1900. The Maryland General Assembly officially adopted it as the state flag in 1904, and it has not changed since.

There is also an unofficial crab variation, which puts a blue crab on the pattern, but it is a novelty and not the state flag. To see other state designs, visit our U.S. state flags page or the flag of the United States.

Interesting facts about the Maryland flag

• Maryland is the only state whose flag is based on a family coat of arms.
• The flag uses no letters, seals or stars, which makes it easy to recognize.
• The state motto, Fatti maschi, parole femmine, is in Italian and appears on the state seal, not on the flag.