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Greetings,
Here's the information we found on the questions you asked.
It appears that surnames and bynames were both in use in the Low Countries during late-period. We don't have good figures on how common either form was, except to say that surnames were not uncommon in the cities and fairly unusual in more rural areas. The most common types of bynames (which generally were adopted as surnames) were patronymics (commonly formed with the suffix "szoon") and locatives (formed with "van.") Descriptive names of many sorts were also used--there was a great deal of variety in the names used.
We have found the name "Gabriel," but haven't found any examples of the name "Raphael." Because "Gabriel" and "Raphael" are both angels who are venerated as saints by the Catholic Church, it's possible that "Raphael" was also used as a name. However, Raphael appears only in the book of Tobit, which is not considered Biblical by Protestants. Given the strong Protestant leanings of the Low Countries in late period, it is also possible that the name would not have been used. Although it's possible that "Raphael" was used, we have no compelling evidence to demonstrate it.
In terms of overall design, Flemish heraldry approximates German style. However, they were much more likely to use the traditional charges favored in French heraldic style.
It's not at all clear if there was any governmental organization which was "selling" arms during this period. However, merchants throughout Continental Europe assumed arms on a regular basis, and there's no reason to think that Flemish merchants didn't do the same.
We haven't seen any evidence that Spanish rule had significant effects on the naming or heraldic practices of the Low Countries, nor was there noticeable Spanish immigration to the Low Countries (which were already heavily populated).
Charles (who ruled _before_ Phillip) was more global in his perspective and spent a good deal of his time dealing with Lutheranism in Germany. He was actually quite popular in the Low Countries, since he had been raised there, and was thus viewed as a native Lowlander. When Phillip inherited the Netherlands at Charles' abdication, he began treating the Low Countries as an unruly colony to be brought in line, and made the Spanish rather unpopular. Political "cartoons" of the time usually depict a lion (the Low Countries) suffering at the hand of Spanish oppressors with the (Catholic) church looking on in approval. The Spanish did have some influence on the Lowlanders--it was because of the war that the Dutch developed a leading armor-making industry. The Spanish may have had an influence on fashion too.
We have a list of names taken from Bruges, 1400-1600--exactly your period and nation.
We can suggest a number of sources for Flemish names and heraldry. The "Armorial Gelre" (B.R. Ms. 15652-56, Uitgeverij-Editions Jan von Helmont, Leuven, 1992.) is a collection of arms from the late 14th and early 15th century--although this is earlier than your period, the armorial styles in this book are appropriate for later period as well.
There is a statistical analysis of a Low Countries armorial, called "Bergshammarvapenboken. En medeltidsheraldisk studie" by J. Raneke. Vol. 1 is the description of the armorial and the statistics, vol. 2 contains blazons of the arms in the armorial. This book is in Swedish, but it has French comments and references items by their Anglo-French heraldic names. If you understand blazon, you should be able to follow this book.
Three good books which include information on Flemish history are:
John L. Motley, "The Rise of the Dutch Republic", 3 vols. Harper & Brothers, New York, 1883.
Jonathan Israel, "The Dutch Republic, 1477-1806", Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1995.
Johan Huizinga, "The Autumn of the Middle Ages", Univ. Chicago Press, 1996. (retranslation of "Herfsttij der Middeleeuwen", original English title was "The Waning of the Middle Ages")
Motley is considered a classic, but has a limited scope. He has a short survey of early Dutch history, but spends most of his time focused on the period from 1550-1600. Israel is a really good book, though it runs well beyond our period. Huizinga is a classic and the retranslation restores a lot of material omitted in the first English translation. It covers the 14-15th centuries in the Low Countries, Burgundy, and France. It is not a narrative history, but a topical survey of events. Everyone serious about this period should read this book.
The Encyclopaedia Britannica has some good articles too. Look under Low Countries, Netherlands, Burgundy. The Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages will also contain information on Flanders which is more specifically oriented to your period.
Finally, we were able to find a list of political units in the Low Countries. When the Low Countries broke away from Spain, they called themselves the "United Provinces" and the "Seventeen Provinces". These were separate political units which had been originally brought together by the Dukes of Burgundy. For convenience the Dukes had called a General assembly to try to deal with a single political body, but the provinces each had their own laws, government, interests, etc. and were often fierce rivals. Here are the names of the provinces as they appeared on a 1608 map.
Brabandt Henegow Vrieslandt
Gelderlandt Hollandt Mechlen
Limburch Zeelandt Utrecht
Lutzenburg Namen Overysel
Vlanderen Zutphen Groeningen
Artoys T'Marcgraef Some of these are Counties, some Duchies. Utrecht is a Bishopric.
Walraven van Nijmege, Lindorm Eriksson, Willem Gerritszoon, Arval D'Espas Nord, Zenobia Naphtali, Tangwystl verch Morgant Glasvryn, and Rouland Carre all contributed to this letter.
We hope this has been helpful.
In service,
Alan Fairfax
Academy of S. Gabriel