The design of the flag comes from the shield in the coat of arms of the Calvert family, the colonial proprietors of Maryland.

George Calvert, first Lord Baltimore, adopted a coat of arms that included a shield with alternating quadrants featuring the yellow-and-black colors of his paternal family and the red-and-white colors of his maternal family, the Crosslands.

When the General Assembly in 1904 adopted a banner of this design as the state flag, a link was forged between modern-day Maryland and the very earliest chapter of the proprietorship of the Calvert family.

For printers: The red and yellow colors in the Maryland flag should conform to the following Pantone Marking System colors:

• red on coated stock-PMS 201
• red on uncoated stock-PMS 193
• yellow on coated stock-PMS 124
• yellow on uncoated stock-PMS 124​