New trend in Denmark: living relatives inscribing their names on gravestones

Including their names on gravestones of their dead family members, Danes show they belonged together

Lucie Rychla

An increasing number of Danes are choosing to have their names inscribed on the tombstones of their deceased relatives, reports Kristeligt Dagblad.

According to Danske Stenhuggerier, a gravestone inscriptions company, the trend first appeared in the 2000s, possibly because family relatives got inspired by death advertisements, which often mention a sender.

“Relatives play a much greater role on gravestones than in the past, showing they belong to the deceased,” Michael Rohde-Petersen, the marketing manager at Danske Stenhuggerier, told Kristeligt Dagblad.

“I think it is a healthy development as the stone becomes an instrument for dealing with their loss.”

Marking their relationship 
Mogens Balling, the managing director of Landsforeningen Liv&Død (Danish funeral association), believes the names of living relatives on gravestones suggest people are willing to talk about death and want to mark their relationship to the deceased.

Meanwhile, a lecturer in archaeology at the University of Copenhagen, Tim Flohr Sørensen, believes the practice is connected to online memorial sites where family and friends can express their personal feelings and remember their loved ones after they have died.

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