Gravestone symbols were a second language for the people who carved and chose them. A willow, a lamb or a pair of clasped hands told passers-by something about the person buried there, their faith, their age, a fraternal order they belonged to or how the family felt about the death. Knowing the most common symbols makes a walk through an old cemetery far more rewarding, and it can give genealogists real clues about a person's life.
Meanings shifted over time and between communities, so treat the list below as the usual reading rather than a fixed rule. A symbol on one stone can simply reflect what a carver offered that decade.
How gravestone styles changed over time
American gravestones fall into broad periods, and the period helps you read the symbols:
- Colonial era (1600s to mid 1700s): blunt reminders of death. Winged skulls ("death's heads"), crossed bones, hourglasses and coffins carved on slate or sandstone, especially in New England.
- Late 1700s to early 1800s: winged faces ("soul effigies" or cherubs) replace skulls, reflecting a gentler view of death and the soul's flight to heaven.
- Early to mid 1800s: the urn and willow motif becomes the signature design on white marble, part of the Neoclassical and Romantic taste for mourning imagery.
- Victorian era (mid to late 1800s): a flowering of sentimental and botanical symbols, hands, lambs, broken columns and fraternal emblems, often on tall marble and later granite monuments.
- 20th century: simpler granite stones with fewer symbols, religious emblems, and later laser-etched pictures of hobbies, landscapes and portraits.
If you are trying to date an unmarked or worn stone, the style is a useful first clue. How to Find an Old Grave covers the research side.
Death and the passage of time
| Symbol | Usual meaning |
|---|---|
| Winged skull (death's head) | Mortality; the certainty of death. Common in colonial New England |
| Winged face or cherub (soul effigy) | The soul rising to heaven |
| Hourglass, often with wings | Time running out; time flies |
| Scythe or sickle | Death as the harvester; a life cut down |
| Inverted torch | A life extinguished. Upright, it can mean eternal life |
| Broken column | A life cut short, often the death of the head of a family or a young adult |
| Broken chain or link | A family circle broken by death |
| Draped urn | Mourning; the body as a vessel of the soul. Very common in the early 1800s |
| Shrouded or draped stone | Mourning and the veil between life and death |
| Sun rising or setting | Renewal and resurrection, or the end of a life |
Plants and flowers
| Symbol | Usual meaning |
|---|---|
| Weeping willow | Grief and mourning; often paired with an urn |
| Rose | Love and beauty. A bud often marks a child; a broken stem, a life ended early |
| Lily | Purity and innocence; associated with the Virgin Mary and with resurrection |
| Ivy | Friendship, fidelity and immortality, because it stays green |
| Oak leaves and acorns | Strength, endurance and a long life |
| Laurel | Victory, distinction and eternity |
| Palm frond | Victory over death; martyrdom in Christian tradition |
| Wheat sheaf | A long, fruitful life harvested in old age |
| Poppy | Eternal sleep |
| Fern | Humility and sincerity; a popular Victorian motif |
| Thistle | Scottish heritage, or earthly sorrow |
Animals
| Symbol | Usual meaning |
|---|---|
| Lamb | Innocence. Very often marks the grave of a child |
| Dove | Peace, purity and the Holy Spirit; a dove descending can mean the soul's journey |
| Butterfly | The soul and resurrection, from caterpillar to winged creature |
| Rooster | Awakening and resurrection |
| Eagle | Courage and patriotism; common on veterans' graves |
| Sleeping or reclining dog | Loyalty and fidelity |
| Snake swallowing its tail (ouroboros) | Eternity |
Hands
Hands were a favorite Victorian symbol. Look closely at the cuffs: a frilled cuff usually indicates a woman's hand and a plain cuff a man's.
| Symbol | Usual meaning |
|---|---|
| Hand pointing up | The soul has gone to heaven |
| Hand pointing down | Usually God reaching down to the deceased, not a reference to hell. Sometimes sudden death |
| Clasped hands | Farewell or a reunion in heaven; often a married couple when the cuffs differ |
| Hand holding a broken chain | God taking a soul, breaking the family circle |
| Hands with thumbs touching and fingers split | The blessing of the Kohanim, marking a man of priestly descent in Jewish tradition |
| Pitcher or ewer | A Levite in Jewish tradition, who washed the hands of the priests |
Religious symbols
| Symbol | Usual meaning |
|---|---|
| Latin cross | Christian faith |
| Cross with a circle (Celtic cross) | Christian faith, often Irish or Scottish heritage |
| Anchor | Hope and steadfast faith; sometimes a sailor |
| IHS | The first letters of Jesus' name in Greek; common on Catholic stones |
| Chi Rho (XP) | Another early Christian monogram for Christ |
| Open book or Bible | Faith, the word of God, or a learned or devout person |
| Crown | Glory and the reward of the righteous |
| Star of David | Jewish faith |
| Small stones placed on top | Not carved, but left by visitors in Jewish tradition as a sign that someone came to remember |
| Crescent and star | Islamic faith, used on some Muslim graves |
| Three-bar Orthodox cross | Eastern Orthodox Christian faith |
Faith traditions also shape how graves are laid out and what may be placed on them. See Religious Burial Customs in the US and browse Catholic, Jewish and Orthodox cemeteries.
Fraternal, military and occupational emblems
Membership in a fraternal order was a central part of many 19th and early 20th century lives, and the emblems are among the most useful clues for genealogists, since many orders kept membership records.
| Emblem | Organization or meaning |
|---|---|
| Square and compass, often with a "G" | Freemasons |
| Three linked rings, often with "FLT" | Independent Order of Odd Fellows (Friendship, Love and Truth) |
| Tree stump or log-shaped stone | Woodmen of the World, which provided members with these markers for many years |
| Star with five points and symbols | Order of the Eastern Star, often a woman |
| Elk's head, sometimes with a clock | Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks |
| Shield, knight's helmet, "FCB" | Knights of Pythias |
| "GAR" star badge | Grand Army of the Republic, a Union Civil War veteran |
| Southern Cross of Honor | A Confederate veteran |
| Branch insignia or a flag holder | Military service; see veterans cemeteries |
| Tools such as a plow, anvil or ship | The person's trade or occupation |
Abbreviations and inscriptions
- RIP: "Requiescat in pace," rest in peace.
- IHS: a monogram of Jesus' name (see above).
- Ae or AEt.: "aetatis," aged, followed by the age at death. Our tombstone birth date calculator turns an age in years, months and days into a birth date.
- Consort, relict: a wife (consort) or a widow (relict) of the man named.
- Hic jacet: "here lies."
- "Memento mori": remember that you will die. Common on colonial stones.
- A Hebrew inscription above the name on Jewish stones often begins with letters meaning "here lies" or "here is buried," and the final line, five letters, abbreviates "may his or her soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life."
Reading symbols without damaging the stone
Old stones are fragile. Never use chalk, flour, shaving cream or a wire brush to bring out a carving: these trap moisture and speed up erosion. Instead, photograph the stone in low, angled sunlight early or late in the day, or reflect light across the face with a mirror. For more on care and visiting, see How to Clean a Headstone Safely and Cemetery Etiquette.