The article analyses the use of Latin mottos in the modern world. The main areas of Latin mottos application are medicine, education, in English-speaking countries also territorial symbols and sports. For Russian linguistic culture, the revival of the tradition of Latin mottos in personal symbolism has been established. In the field of medicine mottoes-quotations are predominate; in sports specially composed phrases translated into Latin are mainly used; about a third of the mottoes in territorial and personal symbols are quotations. The main values declared in the mottos are providentialism (territorial symbolism in English-speaking countries), diligence and the will to win (sport), an active life position and self-development (personal symbolism in modern Russian culture).