
"Semper Fidelis" shortly called as Semper Fi is the Latin words that stands for "Always faithful." This word has served as the motto for United States Marine Corps and had been used as motto or title by many entities. It was adopted by the Lynch Family as their family motto.
The Lynches were actually a tribe belonging to the Tribes of Galway, which were regarded as fourteen merchant families that provided domination in the commercial, political as well as social fields of the people residing in the city of Galway in the span between 13th and 16th centuries. The Lynches were descendants of William Le Petit, who was the Norman knight that decided to opt for settlement in Ireland. The appearance of Semper Fidelis is found in the Lynch Family coat of arms.
The motto "Semper fidelis" was also put to use by the Edge family of Strelley, Nottinghamshire during 1814. The granting of arms inclusive of the motto "Semper fidelis" was done by Chief Herald of Ireland to Irish Senator Joe Doyle in the year 1999. It is also adopted as the family motto by the Steele Family. This motto could be found on the coat of arms of Thomas Steele of Weston and was later used by the ones who descended him as Lord Chancellor William Steele as well as Sir Richard Steele, who are the well known dramatist and essayist.
The adoption of the motto was also carried out by the City of Exeterthat which is located in Devon, England in the year 1588 to highlight the the loyalty of the city towards the English Crown. The suggestion in relation to the use of the motto was given by Queen Elizabeth I as per the White's Devonshire Directory of 1850. This motto Semper fi was also utilised by the Royal Navy warship namely HMS Exeter that got its name from the City of Exeter.
There also exists a Masonic Lodge in Exeter which is referred to as "Lodge Semper fidelis." The application of this motto was done by Pope Alexander VII in the year 1658 to the Ukrainian city of Lviv in order to impart significance to the major role played by the city for the purpose of defending Europe from the invasion as led by the Muslims. The Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth went ahead and passed the Semper fidelis Poloniae Act in the same year. "Semper fidelis" also stands as the motto of the town of St. Malo that is located in Brittany, France.
Semper fi