Companion Urns for Two: Sizes, Types and How to Choose

A companion urn holds the cremated remains of two people, either together in one chamber or kept apart in two. Many are sold at around 400 cubic inches, enough for two average adults under the common rule of one cubic inch of urn space per pound of body weight. Before you buy, check the capacity, decide whether the remains will be mixed, and measure any cemetery niche it has to fit.

More couples are choosing cremation, so more are asking about this. The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) projected a 63.4% US cremation rate for 2025, against 31.6% for burial.

What is a companion urn?

A companion urn, also called a double urn or an urn for two, is a single memorial vessel made for two people's cremated remains. It is not only for married couples. Siblings, close friends, or a parent and child sometimes share one.

There are two main designs:

• Single chamber. One large space. You can place the two bags of remains side by side, or choose to mix them.
• Divided or double chamber. Two compartments, or two inner containers inside one outer shell. Each person's remains stay separate.

After cremation, the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) says the remains are processed to pieces under one-eighth of an inch and usually returned in a strong plastic bag, placed in either an urn or a temporary container. That is why most families can fill a companion urn simply by placing two bags inside, with no mixing at all.

How big does a companion urn need to be?

Urn sellers commonly suggest about one cubic inch of capacity for every pound of the person's body weight before cremation. It is a trade rule of thumb, not a legal or industry standard. Sellers usually describe a standard single-adult urn as about 200 cubic inches, so companion urns are commonly sized at around double that, 400 cubic inches.

To size one, add the two weights together. For example, two people who weighed 150 and 190 pounds give a total of 340, so a 400-cubic-inch urn leaves room to spare. If the total comes to 400 or more, look for a larger model.

The rule errs on the generous side. CANA says the average weight of adult cremated remains is only four to six pounds, and it varies with frame and bone density. Even so, extra room is worth having, because transferring remains from bags into an urn is easier when it is not a tight fit.

Three checks save the most trouble:

• Total or per chamber? For a divided urn, find out whether the listed capacity is the total or for each side. A 400-cubic-inch urn with two chambers may hold only about 200 on each side.
• Is it really a full-size urn? Small "keepsake" versions hold only a portion. Our guide to keepsake urns explains the difference. "Large" or oversize urns made for one person are not the same as companion urns.
• Ask the crematory. It can tell you the volume or weight of the remains it returned. Our cremation urn size guide goes through the sizing step by step.

Should the ashes be mixed?

Not unless you want them to be. Many families keep each person's remains in a separate bag inside the same urn, or choose a divided design, so that the remains stay distinct. If you do mix them, it is permanent, so make sure the decision is clear and agreed.

Three things can limit your choices:

1. State law applies mostly to crematories. Nevada, for example, bars a crematory from cremating more than one person in the same chamber unless the agent for each person authorizes it in writing. Minnesota bars scattering or disposing of remains commingled with another person's without written permission, but its law makes an exception for family members' remains placed in a container designed for more than one person. Rules differ by state.
2. Cemeteries have their own rules. Some will not accept mixed remains, or will only allow one urn per niche or grave.
3. Veterans' benefits can be affected. VA says a spouse or dependent child would be prevented from being interred in a national cemetery if the Veteran's remains and the spouse's remains are commingled. If either of you is a veteran, read the veteran cremation benefits guide before deciding.

For the practical questions, see mixing ashes of two people. To split remains among relatives instead, see dividing ashes in a family.

Which material is best?

Choose the material by where the urn will end up.

Our urn material guide compares each option in more detail.

Will it fit a cemetery niche?

Fit is easy to overlook and hard to fix after you buy. A companion urn can be wider or taller than a standard niche allows, and niche sizes are set by each cemetery, not by any common standard. Some cemeteries sell companion niches built for two urns or one larger urn, and others have only single niches.

Before you buy:

1. Ask the cemetery for the interior measurements of the niche, including depth, and its maximum urn size.
2. Ask whether it has companion niches, and what they cost.
3. Ask about any rules on material, a mixed-remains policy and engraving of the niche front.

Our columbarium niche guide explains how niches work. If the urn you want will not fit, one option is to split the remains into two smaller urns, which the dividing ashes guide covers.

Design options and trends

You are not limited to a classic vase shape. Options include wooden boxes that look like keepsake chests, stone or metal sculptures, glass or ceramic pieces, photo urns, and urns that hold a plaque for both names. Some makers add a scannable code that links to an online memorial page. See QR code memorials for how they work.

Biodegradable and "living" designs, made for burial or for use with a tree, are also sold for two sets of remains. If you choose one, check that it suits the burial location, and see biodegradable urns for the details.

How much does a companion urn cost, and where to buy?

Prices run from modest to very high, depending on material, craftsmanship and engraving. No authoritative price survey for companion urns turned up in research for this guide, so no average is quoted. Compare actual prices, including against two individual urns, rather than assuming. The guide to urn prices and options lists the cost factors.

You can buy from a funeral home, a cemetery or an online retailer. Under the FTC Funeral Rule, a funeral provider cannot refuse to handle an urn you bought elsewhere, or charge you a fee to do it. The rule does not cover retailers or a cemetery without its own funeral home, so check their return and engraving policies. See online vs funeral home urns.

Buying ahead and engraving

Many couples choose their companion urn together and keep it at home or in storage until it is needed. It lets you decide the style, and it gives the survivor one less decision. If one partner has died and the other is alive, ask the engraver to engrave only the first person's details and leave room for the second. Ask whether the later engraving can match the first. See urn engraving options.

If the remains are to be placed with a person's pet, the rules are different. See pet ashes with human ashes.

What to do next

1. Agree with your partner or family whether the remains will stay separate or be mixed.
2. Add up the two body weights, and shortlist urns with about 400 cubic inches or more, checking total versus per-chamber capacity.
3. If a niche or grave is planned, get its measurements and rules in writing first.
4. Choose the material for the final resting place, then order, leaving engraving of the second name until it is needed.