Bronze Name Plates

A bronze name plate does one job and does it for a lifetime: it puts a name, and usually a date or a short line, on something that matters. Families add one to a headstone when a second name is needed, parks fix them to benches, churches to pews, hospitals to the doors of named rooms, and funeral homes to urns and niche fronts. Every name plate we make is cast in solid bronze with raised, polished lettering, so the name stands up from the surface and stays readable for generations. You design it online in any size from 8 by 2 3/8 inches up, see the price as you type, and approve a free written proof before we cast it. Shipping across the USA is included.

Where bronze name plates are used

• Headstones and monuments: a name plate or a date plate fixed to the face or base of an existing stone when a spouse or parent is added, or when the stone was bought with a blank panel. See bronze plaques for headstones for the cemetery rules.
• Memorial benches and chairs: a slim plate on the back rail or seat of a park, campus or church bench naming the person remembered, usually 8 by 2 3/8, 8 by 3 or 10 by 3 inches. See memorial bench plaques.
• Urns, niches and crypts: a small cast plate on an urn vault, a columbarium niche front or a mausoleum crypt shutter, made to the cemetery’s size. See columbarium niche plaques.
• Doors and rooms: named rooms, wards, laboratories, classrooms and offices in hospitals, schools and universities, often one of a matching set from a donor recognition program.
• Pews, seats and lockers: church pew sponsorship, theater seat naming and clubhouse lockers, where dozens of identical plates are needed over several years.
• Trees, gardens and gates: a plate on a stake, a boulder or a gate post naming a memorial tree or a garden bed. See memorial tree plaques.
• Buildings and equipment: architect and builder plates by an entrance, plates naming a boat, an organ, a bell or a piece of donated equipment.

Cast bronze or engraved: which name plate to choose

Most of the “bronze” name plates sold online are thin brass or bronze colored aluminum sheets with the letters engraved or printed into the surface. They are quick and cheap, and indoors on a desk they are fine. Outdoors the engraving fills with dirt, the color fades and the thin plate lifts at the corners. A cast bronze name plate is made the other way round: the letters are raised as part of a solid plate about a quarter of an inch thick, then polished bright against a darkened background. Nothing is applied to the surface that can wear off, and the plate weighs enough to sit flat on stone for a century. Our cast vs engraved bronze plaques page shows the two side by side. Choose cast for anything outdoors, anything on a memorial, and anything that has to match other cast plaques already in place. Choose engraved only for a temporary or indoor label.

Sizes and prices

Name plates are the smallest plaques we cast, and the designer accepts any size from a minimum height of 2 3/8 inches. The table shows the sizes ordered most often and the price each gives in our designer for a standard rectangle with a classic border and leatherette background. Shipping is included.

At a quarter inch letter height, the smallest most cemeteries and park programs accept, a plate holds about three to four characters per inch of width, so an 8 inch wide plate carries a line of up to about 28 characters and a 10 inch plate about 35. Names and dates are usually set a size larger than any wording beneath them. The designer shows your text at true scale as you type, so you will see at once whether a line fits or the plate needs to grow by an inch. Our bronze plaque sizes guide has the full size and price table.

Fastening a name plate

Three fastenings are offered in the designer and the right one depends on the surface:

• Flat back for bonding with a structural adhesive to granite, marble, metal or a painted door where no holes may be drilled. This is the usual choice for niche fronts, urns and headstones in cemeteries that forbid drilling.
• Lugs with studs on the back, set into drilled holes with epoxy, for stone, brick and concrete. The face shows only the lettering and the plate cannot be pried off.
• Screws visible from the front through cast holes at the corners, for timber benches, wooden doors and pews, and for plates that may need to be moved.

A plate on a headstone, niche or crypt is cemetery property once fitted, so check the office’s rule before ordering: most allow a cast bronze plate with studs or adhesive, some require their own staff to fit it, and a few permit only plates bought through the cemetery.

Matching plates that are already in place

Many name plates join a row that already exists: the next pew along, the next door in a corridor, the second name on a companion headstone. Send us a photo of a neighboring plate with your order, or note its border, background texture and lettering style in the designer, and the proof will show the new plate in the same style. For programs that add names every year, save the design in My Account and reorder it with the new name, so every plate in the set matches the first.

How to order

1. Open the free design tool, pick the shape and set the size in inches. The price updates as you go.
2. Add the wording, choose a border and background, and add an emblem, motif or photo if you want one.
3. Pick the fastening: flat back, concealed lugs with studs, or screws visible from the front.
4. Save the design and order it from My Account. We send a written proof, and nothing is cast until you approve it.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a bronze name plate cost?

In our designer a one line 8 by 2 3/8 inch plate is $385.86, a 6 by 4 inch plate is $382.98 and an 8 by 4 inch plate with a line of wording is $455.70, shipping included. The price updates on screen as you change the size and options.

What is the smallest bronze name plate you make?

The designer accepts any plate from 2 3/8 inches tall, and about 6 inches wide for a legible name at quarter inch letters. Type the size you need and the price appears.

Can a bronze name plate be added to a headstone?

Yes, with the cemetery’s permission. The plate is bonded to a flat area of the stone with a structural adhesive, or fixed with concealed studs set in epoxy. Check the cemetery’s rules on attachments first.

Are your name plates cast or engraved?

Cast. The letters are raised as part of a solid bronze plate and polished bright against a darkened background, so they cannot wear off or fade outdoors. Engraved plates are thin sheets with the letters cut into the surface.

How long does a name plate take?

Allow about 3 to 4 weeks for casting after you approve the free proof, plus 5 to 10 days for delivery anywhere in the USA and worldwide.