A walk through a cemetery when researching ancestors can be a haunting, yet beautiful and reflective experience. Aside from names, birthdates, and death dates, gravestones are often decorated with symbols and icons. Here is an overview of some gravestone symbols you may come across while researching your family history. You never know what you might discover! Find more hidden meanings behind gravestone symbols at https://www.familytreemagazine.com/cemeteries/hidden-meanings-gravestone-symbols/.

1. Hidden Meanings
of Gravestone
Symbols
D E C I P H E R I N G T O M B S T O N E C A R V I N G S A N D I C O N S

2. Aside from names, birthdates, and death dates,
gravestones are often decorated with symbols
and icons.
Carvings on and around tombstones have been
around for centuries, but gained popularity with
the cipher-loving Victorians from 1839 to 1920.
The iconography you find is more than just
decoration, it means something: a virtue the
person exemplified, a value they held dear, or a
nod to how they earned their living.
How did gravestone symbolism begin?

3. A Word of Caution
Tombstone scholars still debate the meanings of
certain symbols, so you could find varying
interpretations. This is especially true across
cultures, though you may be surprised at the
similarities in meanings throughout the world.
Still, a revelation about your ancestor’s life may
just be right in front of you, hidden in plain sight.

4. passage into the next life
Arch or Gate
SYMBOL ONE

5. Acorn
SYMBOL TWO
prosperity
power
triumph
strength
independence

6. Anchor
SYMBOL THREE
hope
sailor
U.S. Navy

7. God’s messengers and guardians;
dropping flowers may signify grief,
mourning;
pointing to heaven may signify
rejoicing
Angels
SYMBOL FOUR

8. blacksmith
Anvil or
Hammer
SYMBOL FIVE

9. fertility
maternal bond
Basket
SYMBOL SIX

10. Bat
Wings
SYMBOL SEVEN
death
misfortune

11. possible membership with the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows
or the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints;
industrious or hardworking
Beehive
SYMBOL EIGHT

12. mourning
contemplation
Bench
SYMBOL NINE

13. flight of the soul
Bird
SYMBOL TEN

14. Book
SYMBOL ELEVEN
Bible
book of life
with quill: writer

15. death
mortal remains
Bones and
Skulls
SYMBOL TWELVE

16. life
broken: end of life
Candles
SYMBOL THIRTEEN

17. Church or
Hand Holding
Cross
SYMBOL FOURTEEN
ministry
pastor or minister

18. march of time
clock: may show hour of death
winged hourglass: life is short
("time flies")
Clock or
Hourglass
SYMBOL FIFTEEN

19. Christian trinity
possible Irish ancestry
Clover
SYMBOL SIXTEEN

20. broken: life cut short, sudden death
unbroken: complete and full life
Column
SYMBOL SEVENTEEN

21. peace
the Holy Spirit
Dove
SYMBOL EIGHTEEN

22. Fern
SYMBOL NINETEEN
sincerity
humility
solitude

23. Forefingers
Pointing
SYMBOL TWENTY
down: God reaching down
for the soul
up: soul’s passage to Heaven

24. eternal plenty
Fruit
SYMBOL TWENTY-ONE

25. welcoming of a soul into Heaven
bond between spouses (if hands are
feminine and masculine)
Handshake
SYMBOL TWENTY-TWO

26. Harp
SYMBOL TWENTY-THREE
worship
music to God

27. Heart
SYMBOL TWENTY-FOUR
a blissful soul (Colonial era)
romantic love (Victorian era to today)

28. Horses
SYMBOL TWENTY-FIVE
courage or generosity
possible membership with
the International
Brotherhood of Teamsters
(especially if two-headed)

29. Lamb
SYMBOL TWENTY-SEVEN
purity
gentleness
innocence
(popular on
children's graves)

30. Lamp
SYMBOL TWENTY-EIGHT
knowledge
spiritual immortality

31. Lilies
SYMBOL TWENTY-NINE
innocence and purity
resurrection
Calla: marriage and fidelity
Lily of the Valley: innocence and
humility

32. strength
stability
endurance
Oak Leaves
SYMBOL THIRTY

33. Olive Tree
SYMBOL THIRTY-ONE
peace
reconciliation between
God and man

34. life conquering death
resurrection
Palm Leaf
or Tree
SYMBOL THIRTY-TWO

35. Phoenix
SYMBOL THIRTY-THREE
resurrection

36. prosperity
hospitality
perfection
Pineapple
SYMBOL THIRTY-FOUR

37. Roses
SYMBOL THIRTY-FIVE
love
beauty
virtue
motherhood
intertwined: strong bond
rosebud: youthful death

38. life conquering death
resurrection
Shield
SYMBOL THIRTY-SIX

39. Sphinx
SYMBOL THIRTY-SEVEN
courage
honor
power

40. sorrow and remembrance
potential Scottish ancestry
Thistle
SYMBOL THIRTY-EIGHT

41. Urn
SYMBOL THIRTY-NINE
death of the flesh

42. mortal remains of
the deceased
Winged
Skull
SYMBOL FORTY

43. Willow
SYMBOL FORTY-ONE
mourning
earthly sorrow

44. What Tombstone
Symbols
have you found?