Cemetary Gravestone Symbols

Cemetery Headstone Symbols

Click to enlarge, or shrink back


	Symbol	Meaning

	Acanthus Leaf	Peace in the Garden of Eden, also linked to rocky burial grounds
	Acorn	Prosperity, power, triumph, strength, independence
	Alpha & Omega letters	Beginning and end of life
	Anchor	Hope, Navy, Mariner
	Angels	God's messengers. Flowers up = grief. Flowers down = rejoice
	Anvil, hammer	Creatin of the universe, also for a blacksmith
	Arches	Passage into the next life
	Arms Outstretched	Plea for mercy
	Arrow	Mortality
	Baby shoes, cradles, chairs	Empty or overturned because the child has passed away
	Basket	Fertility, maternal bond
	Bat wings	Death, misfortune
	Beehive	Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints. Order of Odd Fellows
	Benches	Mourning, contemplation
	Bird	Flight of the soul, messenger of God
	Boat	Crossing over to the other side
	Bone	Death
	Book, open	Bible, scripture, knowledge, life story, or memory
	Book, closed	A completed life or finished story
	Butterfly	Rebirth, resurrection, or the natural cycle of life and death
	Candle	Life
	Century plant	Immortality, life everlasting
	Chain, broken	Cessation of life
	Cherub	Innocence, virtue, purity. Common on children's headstones
	Church ministry	Pastor, minister
	Circle	Eternal life, no beginning or end
	Clock	March of time, usually stopped at hour of death
	Clover	Christian trinity, Irish ancestry, or affiliation with 4H Club
	Column or pillar (Broken)	Life cut short; sudden death
	Column or pillar (Unbroken)	A complete and full life
	Compass, square	Freemasonry, Masonic affiliation; sometimes with the letter G
	Corn	Farming, also frequently symbolized by wheat
	Cornucopia	An abundant life
	Crescent Moon	A common symbol of Islamic faith
	Cross, Celtic Cross	Christian faith, resurrection, salvation
	Crown	Eternal life, spiritual reward, soul's ascension into heaven
	Daisy	The innocence of a child
	Dog	Loyalty, vigilance, and may honor a pet
	Dogwood tree	Christianity, divine sacrifice, resurrection
	Doves	Peace; the Holy Spirit
	Dragonfly	Symbol of change, transition, lightness, or joy
	Drapery	Mourning of a life lost
	Eagle	Courage, strength, and immortality, patriotism
	Elk	Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
	Evergreen	Faithfulness, remembrance
	Father Time	Time flies, a short life
	Feathered headdress	Improved Order of Red Men, or Degree of Pocahontas
	Fern	Sincerity, humility, solitude
	Flame	Eternal life of the soul
	Flowers	Love, remembrance, or seasonal cycles
	Flower, broken	Life cut short, grief, early death
	Finger pointing down	God reaching down for the soul
	Finger pointing up	Soul’s passage to Heaven
	Frog	Depicts worldly treasures or resurrection
	Fruit, assortment	Plentiful abundance of the afterlife
	Gates	Passage into the next life
	Grapes, grapevine	Blood of Christ, God's care, or the Last Supper
	Grapes with leaves	Christian faith
	Grim Reaper	Death, a shortened life, often with an hourglass
	Half-carved tombstone	Transition from life to death
	Hammer	The power of creation
	Hands clasped	Earthly life farewell, reunion in Heaven, eternal marriage bond
	Hand holding a flower	Remembrance, affection, or grief
Hand holding chain, link	Connection, organization symbolism, or unity
Hand, just one	Depicts the hand of God
Hands praying	Prayer, devotion, and remembrance
Handshake	Welcoming of a soul into Heaven. Bond between spouses
Harp	Worship, music tribute to God
Heart	A blissful soul (Colonial era), romantic love (Victorians to today)
Horses	Courage or generosity. International Brotherhood of Teamsters
Hourglass	Time, mortality, and the shortness of life
Hourglass, winged	Literal interpretation of Time flies, often indicating a short life
Ivy	Memory, attachment, affection, and enduring connection
Key	Knowledge, entrance to heaven
Lambs	Purity, gentleness, innocence (children)
Lamp	Knowledge; spiritual immortality
Laurel wreath	Honor, victory, remembrance, or achievement
Leaves	Love, remembrance, or seasonal cycles
Lily	Innocence and purity, resurrection, marriage and fidelity
Lily of the Valley	Rebirth and reawakening
Lion	Strength, courage, or bravery of the deceased
Lotus Flower	Rebirth and reawakening
Lyre	Symbolizing the end of life
Menorah	Jewish faith. May represent pious or religious Jewish women
Moon	Represents death, rebirth, victory
Moose	Lodge emblem for civic or fraternal affiliation
Morning Glory	Youth and love
Mortar and pestle	Pharmacist or doctor
Mosque shape	Islamic faith
Oak tree, leaf	Strength, stability, endurance
Obelisk	Remembrance, permanence, and memorial prominence
Olive branch	A symbol of grace, humility, and forgiveness
Olive tree	Peace, reconciliation between God and man
Palm branch	Life conquering death, peace, victory, spiritual triumph
Phoenix	Resurrection
Pineapple	Prosperity, hospitality, perfection
Plow	The harvest of life
Pomegranate	Nourishment of the soul
Poppy	Death or eternal sleep
Pyramid	Resurrection, eternal life, spiritual attainment, enlightenment
Rooster	Vigilance, awakening, attention to the person's death
Rose	Love, beauty, virtue, motherhood. Couple's bond if intertwined
Rosebud	A youthful death
Rosebuds, adjoining	For a mother and child who died at the same time
Sextant	Mariner
Scales	Justice, law
Scythe	Mortality, last harvest of life, passage from life to death
Shells	A person's baptism in the church or a Christian journey
Shield	Protection, faith, defense of the spirit
Shield, sunken	For Union soldiers in the Civil War
Shoes, empty, overturned	The loss of a child
Sickle	The reaping of life
Skull	Death; mortal remains, immortality of the soul
Skull, winged	The flight the soul takes after death
Snake	Everlasting life, a snake formed into a circle indicates eternity
Soul effigy	Immortality of the soul, Passage to the afterlife if winged
Southern Cross	For Confederates who fought in the Civil War
Spade, shovel	Mortality, death
Sphinx	Courage, honor, power
Star	Divine guidance, 5 pts = Star of Bethlehem, 6 pts = God's creation
Star of David	Jewish faith and identity
Sun	The soul rising up to Heaven
Thistle	Sorrow and remembrance, Scottish ancestry
Torches	Immortality or everlasting life
Torches, inverted	The flame of life has been extingusihed
Trees	Love, remembrance, or seasonal cycles
Tree stump	Life cut short, also Modern Woodmen of America/World
Triangle	Trinity of Father, Son, Holy Spirit. An eye is an all knowing God
Urn	Death of the flesh
Urn, draped	Mourning, death, grief, and remembrance
Vines	Evergreen denote the Church. 3 sided leaves, the Holy Trinity.
Water Lily	Rebirth and reawakening
Wheat	Farming, harvest, prosperity, full life
Wheel	The cycle of life, enlightenment, spiritual power
Wheel, winged	Represents the Holy Spirit
Willow tree	Mourning, grief, remembrance, sorrow
Winged death’s head	Mortal remains of the deceased

Epitaphs

Thomas Jefferson

"Here lies Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, and of the Statutes establishing religious toleration in the Commonwealth of Virginia."

Benjamin Franklin

"The Body of B. Franklin, Printer; like the Cover of an old Book, Its Contents torn out, And stript of its Lettering and Gilding, Lies here, Food for Worms. But the Work shall not be wholly lost; For it will, as he believ'd, appear once more, In a new & more perfect Edition, Corrected and amended By the Author."

Alexander Hamilton

"The patriot of incorruptible integrity, the soldier of approved valour, the statesman of consummate wisdom, whose talents and virtues will be admired long after this marble has mouldered into dust."

Lord, help us to be the people our dogs think we are

Headstone Initials and Acronyms


	Initials	Meaning

	AAONMS	Ancient Arabic Order Nobles and the Mystic Shrine (Masonic)
	AASR	Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite (Masonic)
	BPOE	Shows membership in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks fraternal organization, commonly known as the Elks
	Chi Rho or Chrismon	Chi and Rho are the first two letters of Christ in Greek (Christos). The symbol for Chi Rho is the letter P intersected by the letter X
	FCB	Friendship, Charity, Benevolence are the values of the Knights of Pythias, a fraternal organization established in 1864 for governmental clerks
	FCL	Fraternity, Charity, Loyalty. Mottos of both the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War and the Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic hereditary organizations
	FLT	Friendship, Love, Truth. Associated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Similar to the Freemasons, symbols often used are three chain links or the all seeing eye
	FOE	Fraternal Order of Eagles
	IHC/HIS	Christian, the first three letters of Jesus' name in Greek
	IHS	Early Christians shortened Jesus' name by writing the first three letters of his name in Greek, ??S (from his full name ??S??S). Because the Greek letter S (sigma) is written as an S in the Latin alphabet, the gravestone symbol will be read as ??S.
	IOOF	Independent Order of Odd Fellows
	K of C	Knights of Columbus (Catholic)
	RIP	Rest in Peace, from the original Latin requiescat in pace
	WOW	Woodmen of the World, membership in a fraternal organization. Typical symbols are a tree or stump

Live your life well...so we don't have to lie at your funeral

Animals are closely tied with Jewish naming traditions; thus, the image of a certain animal on a Jewish gravestone may provide clues to a nickname or simply serve as a visual representation of a given name.

Lion: Judah, Lieb, Levi, Aryeh, Loew, or Loeb

Deer: Tzvi, Hersh, or Hirsch

Bear: Dov Ber (a common compound name)

Wolf: Zev, Ze'ev, Wolf, or Vulf

Bird: Zipporah, Fayge, or Feige

A winged skull represents the flight a soul takes after death. The wealthier 16th century Puritans would have a skull or skull and crossbones carved on their headstone as a bleak reminder of their belief that only the elect would go to heaven while the majority would be but bones in the ground.

A husband decided it was time to prearrange funeral plans for he and his wife so their children wouldn't have to worry about it. On his way out the door he asked his wife if she wanted to go along. You can pick out your own casket that way he explained.
His wife wasn't as excited as he was about the whole situation though. No, you do it, she replied. I want to be surprised.

Mouseover each picture

Clear

Humorous Epitaphs

"Currently haunting those who forgot to return my calls."

"Recalculating route."

"Check back later."

"Buried with my Netflix queue unfinished."

"Not gone, just hard to reach."

"Still fabulous. Just invisible."

"Ctrl + Alt + Delete."

"Here lies an Atheist, All dressed up and no place to go.

"Out of service, but still loved.

Epitaphs

Elvis Presley

"You gave yourself to each of us in some manner. You were wrapped in thoughtfulness and tied with love. May this flame reflect our never ending respect and love for you. May it serve as a constant reminder to each of us of your eternal presence."

Karl Marx

"Workers of all lands unite."

Anonymous

"I was somebody. Who, is no business of yours."

- Did you see the doves in the tree picture above?

Sir Issac Newton Memorial

Click pic to enlarge

Take the Quiz on these Famous Gravestone Epitaphs

Back

Try to figure out which epitaph goes with which person listed below
	Epitaph		Name

	- "The best is yet to come." - "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." - "Grace, dignity and elegance personified." - "Sleepe after toyle, Port after stormy seas, Ease after war, Death after life does greatly please." - "Good Friend, for Jesus' sake forbear, To dig the dust enclosed here, Blessed be the man that spares these stones, And curst be he that moves my bones."	Answer Answer Answer Answer Answer	Frank Sinatra F. Scott Fitzgerald Joe DiMaggio Agatha Christie William Shakespeare

F. Scott Fitzgerald William Shakespeare Frank Sinatra Agatha Christie Joe DiMaggio

	Epitaph		Name

	- "One of the greatest entertainers the world has ever known. Hollywood will always be home." - "I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether they are prepared for the ordeal of me is another matter." - "That's all folks" - "I hold that a man should strive to the uttermost for his life's set prize." - "You've come home."	Answer Answer Answer Answer Answer	Mickey Rooney Winston Churchill Mel Blanc Ernest Shackleton Lucille Ball

Mickey Rooney Lucille Ball Ernest Shackleton Mel Blanc Winston Churchill

	Epitaph		Name

	- "Goodnight sweet prince" - "He saw the poignancy in people's pride and pain and turned it into something hilarious and endearing" - "There goes the neighborhood" - "How sweet it is" - "I had a lover's quarrel with the world"	Answer Answer Answer Answer Answer	John Barrymore Don Knotts Rodney Dangerfield Jackie Gleason Robert Frost

John Barrymore Robert Frost Don Knotts Jackie Gleason Rodney Dangerfield