Guide to Common Headstone Symbols

While headstones can be as unique as the people they represent, certain symbols have remained common throughout the ages. However, deciphering these symbols, especially on older headstones, can be challenging.

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Here are some common headstone symbols and their meanings:

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• Anchor: A symbol of hope or indicating that the deceased worked at sea.
• Angel: A guide to heaven.
• Arch: Represents triumphant entry into heaven or victory over death.
• Arrow: Symbolizes mortality or martyrdom.
• Beehive: Represents abundance in heaven, piety, domestic virtue, or faith.
• Bell: A symbol of religious faith.
• Bird: Signifies eternal life, spirituality, or peace.
• Book: Represents the Bible or the deceased's lifetime accomplishments.
• Burning Flame: Symbolizes eternal life or resurrection.
• Butterfly: A sign of resurrection.
• Celtic Cross: Represents faith and eternity.
• Circle: Symbolizes eternity or life without end.
• Clouds: Represents heaven.
• Cross: A symbol of faith and resurrection, commonly found on military markers, particularly from World War I.
• Crown: Represents the glory of life after death.
• Dove: Symbolizes love, purity, resurrection, or the Holy Spirit.
• Eagle: Commonly found on Civil War-era gravestones.
• Finger (pointing downward): Calls the earth to witness.
• Finger (pointing upward): Represents a pathway to heaven or indicates that the deceased found a heavenly reward.
• Fish: Symbolizes spiritual nourishment, faith, or indicates that the deceased was a Christian.
• Flower: Represents immortality.
• Flying Bird: Signifies rebirth.
• Garland: Represents victory over death.
• Grim Reaper: Found on many early gravestones, symbolizes the inevitability of death.
• Hands (clasped): Symbolizes farewell and the hope of meeting again in heaven.
• Harp: Represents hope.
• Heart: Symbolizes love, devotion, joy, or mortality.
• Hourglass: Represents the swift passage of time.
• Lamb: Symbolizes innocence, often used on infant or child gravestones.
• Lily: Represents purity or chastity.
• Myrtle Leaves: Symbolize undying love or peace.
• Oak Leaves: Represent faith, virtue, or endurance.
• Obelisk: Commonly used from the 19th to the 20th century, symbolizes rebirth or a connection between earth and heaven.
• Olive Branch: Symbolizes peace, forgiveness, or humanity.
• Open Gates: A symbol of the afterlife and the soul entering heaven.
• Pyramid: Represents resurrection, eternal life, enlightenment, or spiritual attainment.
• Rainbow: Represents the fulfillment of the promise of resurrection.
• Rope Circle: Symbolizes love, victory, triumph, or purity.
• Scythe: Represents life cut short, death, or the final harvest.
• Sheaf of Wheat: Indicates old age and a fruitful life.
• Skull: Used in early to mid-19th century gravestones to represent mortality or penitence. A winged skull indicates the deceased ascended into heaven.
• Sleeping Cherub: A symbol of innocence, primarily used for the gravestones of infants or children.
• Swallow: Represents motherhood, the spirit of children, or symbolizes consolation.
• Sword: Represents military service.
• Swords (Crossed): Symbolizes that the deceased died in battle.
• Tree: Represents life, knowledge, the fall of man through sin, or human frailty.
• Tree Stump: Represents a life interrupted.
• Trumpet: Symbolizes announcing the resurrection of the deceased's soul entering heaven.
• Urn: Represents the soul, immortality, or penitence.
• Wheel: Symbolizes the cycle of life, enlightenment, or spiritual power.
• Wreath of Roses: Represents heavenly joy and bliss.

Whether you use this guide to select symbols for a loved one’s headstone or you're planning to visit a historical cemetery, you'll be better prepared to understand the meanings behind the images you encounter.

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