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What is a Motto?

Mary Elizabeth
Mary Elizabeth
Mary Elizabeth
Mary Elizabeth

A motto is a succinct statement of beliefs or ideals and may either be a sentence or a short phrase. An individual may have a personal motto, and an organization or business may have one that doubles as an advertising slogan. Nations can have them, as can politicians, who often express them through memorable slogans. Their purpose is to remind stakeholders of the foundational beliefs that underpin an effort.

A personal motto may either be part of a public family tradition, as with inscriptions that accompany a family’s coat of arms, or an individual and private choice. The statement may be in the person’s native language, but there are many that have been traditionally rendered in Latin. Here are some examples of personal mottoes:

  • Cooperatores Veritatis ("Co-workers of the Truth"): Pope Benedict XVI, chosen as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger
  • Vi et veritate ("By force and by truth"): Sloan family — Scotland
  • Semper Eadem ("Always the same"): Queen Elizabeth 1 of England
  • "Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God": Epitaph of Benjamin Franklin, adopted by Thomas Jefferson

A motto may be included in an organization’s advertising slogan. Unlike those that focus on name-recognition or product features, this type points to the underlying principles of the organization. Here are several examples:

  • All the news that’s fit to print. (The New York Times)
  • Inspiring Minds (Dalhousie University, Canada)
"E Pluribus Unum" is a motto that means "Out of Many, One."
"E Pluribus Unum" is a motto that means "Out of Many, One."

Notice that The New York Times motto refers to the organization’s discernment and discrimination in choosing what to present to their readership, as well as the breadth of their coverage. This slogan is so well known and associated with quality, that the parody publication The Onion used the slogan “all the news that’s fit to reprint” in promoting "The Onion Presents Embedded in America, Volume 16" of their archives. Dalhousie University also focuses on their relationship with their customers, who are their students.

National mottos are often connected with a country’s coat of arms or its currency. Some are more descriptive than idealistic:

  • A mari usque ad mare ("From sea to sea"): Canada
  • "In God We Trust": United States, introduced on currency in 1864
  • E Pluribus Unum ("Out of Many, One"): United States, introduced on currency in 1795

In addition to keeping a candidate’s name in the public eye and in the public’s ear, campaign slogan can be a motto, expressing the public relations version of the ideals or beliefs of the candidate or the party, as these examples show:

  • "Prosperity and Progress": Al Gore, 2000
  • "Compassionate conservatism": George W. Bush, 2000
  • "Government of, by, and for the people ... not the monied interests": Ralph Nader, 2000

Nader’s motto quotes from President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, connecting Nader with everything that Lincoln expressed in that well-known speech.

Mary Elizabeth
Mary Elizabeth

Mary Elizabeth is passionate about reading, writing, and research, and has a penchant for correcting misinformation on the Internet. In addition to contributing articles to LanguageHumanities about art, literature, and music, Mary Elizabeth is a teacher, composer, and author. She has a B.A. from the University of Chicago’s writing program and an M.A. from the University of Vermont, and she has written books, study guides, and teacher materials on language and literature, as well as music composition content for Sibelius Software.

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Mary Elizabeth
Mary Elizabeth

Mary Elizabeth is passionate about reading, writing, and research, and has a penchant for correcting misinformation on the Internet. In addition to contributing articles to LanguageHumanities about art, literature, and music, Mary Elizabeth is a teacher, composer, and author. She has a B.A. from the University of Chicago’s writing program and an M.A. from the University of Vermont, and she has written books, study guides, and teacher materials on language and literature, as well as music composition content for Sibelius Software.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

anon292913

I'm handing in a project and I am supposed to create a made up name for a country and then create a flag. You know how every state has it's own motto, well I need one. Any suggestions? My made up name for my country is "Puertotalian" which is Puerto Rico mixed with Italian.

lighth0se33

Many people use “Carpe Diem” as their personal motto. “Seize the Day” is a good motto to live by.

My motto is similar. It's “never put off until tomorrow what you can finish today.” I know that this isn't original, but it helps me get things done. I can't sleep at night unless I know that I have gotten all the tasks I possibly could have done out of the way.

shell4life

I live in a small town, so businesses here like to come up with slogans that incorporate that small town feel. They know that potential customers want to feel like they will be given plenty of attention and good service when they come to the business, so their mottoes often focus on this.

One car dealership has the motto “Where You Are Family” printed on every ad they run in the local newspaper. This might seem a bit excessive to someone from out of town, but people around here don't mind being treated like family. In fact, they desire it!

giddion

@wavy58 – Did you know that “In God We Trust” is also the Florida state motto? Florida never came up with one of its own, so it decided to use this one.

I don't know how many residents of the state actually believe in God, but I bet that whenever one of the many hurricanes approaches the state, several develop at least a temporary religion!

wavy58

It's hard to believe that the United States motto is “In God We Trust.” I read some statistics a few years ago that showed how few people in this country actually even believe there is a God.

Our founding fathers followed this motto, but today, I don't know what politicians trust. I do know that politics and greed seem to govern the nation, and many have abandoned their faith, if they ever had any in the first place.

alex94

@DinoLeash: Yes, every state has a state motto. Alaska’s state motto is “North to the Future”. That motto was adopted in 1967 during the Alaska Purchase Centennial. It represents Alaska as a land of promise.

The state motto of Michigan is “Si quaris peninsulam amoenam, circumspice” which is Latin for “If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you.”

DinoLeash

Doesn't every state have it's own "state motto"? If so, does anyone know what Michigan and Alaska's are? I have a report to do on those two states and I'm trying to find as much info as possible.

sinefey

The one motto that always sticks in my head since I first heard it and makes my laugh every time is Google's motto "Don't Be Evil"!

Is that great or what?! Funny and at the same time reminds themselves to not turn into the stereotypical monster corporation!

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    • "E Pluribus Unum" is a motto that means "Out of Many, One."
      By: Sam Spiro
      "E Pluribus Unum" is a motto that means "Out of Many, One."
    • The personal motto of Queen Elizabeth I of England was Semper Eadem ("Always the Same").
      By: Georgios Kollidas
      The personal motto of Queen Elizabeth I of England was Semper Eadem ("Always the Same").
    • Benjamin Franklin was famous for making mottoes.
      By: Georgios Kollidas
      Benjamin Franklin was famous for making mottoes.
    • The mottoes "In God We Trust" and "E Pluribus Unum" appear on US coins.
      By: Sascha Burkard
      The mottoes "In God We Trust" and "E Pluribus Unum" appear on US coins.
    • Protesters often use a motto to help get their message across.
      By: satori
      Protesters often use a motto to help get their message across.