Blake had a very different emblem when she was with the white fang, wanting to distance herself from her family name. She changed it after she left, making it a restylized belladonna flower to reclaim her name.
Canonically Ruby‘s emblem is the same as her mother’s. HC that the Roses have always been great huntsmen who usually died in mysterious circumstances (Though it was always assumed to be Grimm). The Rose emblem is actually a very old one, though Ruby has no idea that the legacy traces any further then her grandparents. Salem, however, knows it by sight. So does Ozpin.
Canonically Weiss’s emblem is her family’s symbol. The Schnees are a very old family, descended from the Mantle royalty back when they still had kings. It’s unknown if this is true or if a Schnee simply adopted the symbol for bragging right; either way it’s a symbol that has always meant wealth, power, and elegance.
Yang created her flaming heart emblem when she was eight. It was a lot more complicated and messy then.
The Arc family symbol has always meant warriors. Even before the Great War they were famous as knights and warriors sworn to protect Vale and it’s king. Jaune‘s great grandfather was a famous general during the Great War, and his great-grandmother was the royal family’s bodyguard. In many ways the Arcs were the first huntsmen, so while it makes sense that Jaune chose the family symbol it’s still quite a legacy.
Ren created Nora’s emblem as well as his own. It was a New Years gift.
Pyrrha’s emblem was created by her grandmother as a gift for when she first went to combat school
All of CRDL emblems where passed down through their families, except for Russell Thrush, who created his own
Coco Adel created her own emblem
Velvet created her own emblem. Her mother, who work as a traveling doctor, would often have to leave Velvet with relatives instead of take her on the dangerous journeys. She gave her a velvet, hand stitch heart whenever she would leave, telling her daughter that her heart would always be wherever she was. When she was younger she would keep the heart with her until her mother came back home, now she has it’s design on her weapons and clothes, still always keeping it with her.
Flynt Coal’s emblem was the symbol of his father’s dust shop
Raven and Qrow both created their emblems, though wings were a common symbol of the Branwen tribe. Both of their emblems appeared to be eyes as the twins were always spies, first for the Branwens and then Ozpin. Qrow created his with gears as a nod to his beloved weapon, and Raven subconsciously chose a clock (or a compass) because she always felt like she was running on borrowed time (or never knew which way to go)
Summer’s emblem was a tribute to her own mother, who died while she was still in school.
Cinder’s emblem was given to her by Salem.
Cinder also gave Emerald her emblem. She wasn’t really feeling creative that day, as you can tell.
Mercury created his own emblem. The winged feet basically symbolize how he sees his own legs: as how he got his freedom from his father and turned his weakness into a strength—of course he’d never admit any of that.
Maria Calavera chose the sugar skull as her symbol because she believed death was just another part of life and nothing to fear. I’m going to assume the day the dead is a thing in remment (there’s a lot of deaths and negativity around them brings Grimm. People will probably want a more positive holiday for the dead). Maria always prided herself of being unafraid of death, something most of her human enemies didn’t share. Unfortunately, she never thought a possibility worst then death.