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The deceased symbol on a genogram

This page shows the Caldwell family, where Harvey died in 2015 and his wife Doris in 2021, and where their elder son Stuart died in a car accident in 1994 at 32, leaving his wife Alison and their son Callum, the focus person with the yellow outline.

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Updated October 2026Notation follows McGoldrick, Gerson and Petry, Genograms: Assessment and Treatment (4th ed., 2020)

Genogram deceased symbol in the Caldwell family, with an X through Harvey Caldwell, 1936 to 2015, who died of a stroke at 79, and through his wife Doris Caldwell, née Whitcombe, 1939 to 2021, who died of lung cancer at 82, with a widowed couple line between them. Their elder son Stuart Caldwell, 1962 to 1994, who died in a car accident at 32, has an X and a widowed line with his wife Alison Caldwell, née Bishop, and their son Callum Caldwell is the focus person. Stuart's brother Keith Caldwell is drawn with his wife Janet and their children Natalie and Oscar
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Cite this diagram

Genogram Pro. (2026, October 20). The deceased symbol on a genogram [Diagram]. https://genogrampro.com/guide/genogram-symbols/deceased

Genogram deceased symbol in the Caldwell family, with an X through Harvey Caldwell, 1936 to 2015, who died of a stroke at 79, and through his wife Doris Caldwell, née Whitcombe, 1939 to 2021, who died of lung cancer at 82, with a widowed couple line between them. Their elder son Stuart Caldwell, 1962 to 1994, who died in a car accident at 32, has an X and a widowed line with his wife Alison Caldwell, née Bishop, and their son Callum Caldwell is the focus person. Stuart's brother Keith Caldwell is drawn with his wife Janet and their children Natalie and Oscar, and a genogram key
Three deaths in the Caldwell family, each with an X, the birth and death years, the age at death and the cause, with the genogram key.

  1. Deceased symbol

    Harvey's square has an X through it for his death, and the stroke that caused it is written under his name.

  2. Birth and death years

    Doris's birth year, 1939, is written above her circle on the left and her death year, 2021, on the right.

  3. Age at death

    Stuart died in a car accident in 1994, and the 32 inside his square is his age at death.

  4. Widowed couple line

    The line between Stuart and Alison has an X for a marriage that ended at his death, with w. 1994 after the marriage year.

Tell the deceased symbol from the other death symbols

An X through a full-size square or circle is a person who was born alive and has died. A smaller symbol or a triangle with an X is a pregnancy that ended in a loss, as explained on the miscarriage and stillbirth symbols page.

  • Deceased

    An X through the symbol of a person who has died.

  • A child who died

    An X through the child's symbol, in birth order among the siblings.

  • Widowed

    An X on the line, for a marriage ended by a partner's death.

  • Stillbirth

    A small square or circle with an X, for a baby who was stillborn.

  • Miscarriage

    A triangle with an X, for a pregnancy that ended in a miscarriage.

See every life status on the symbols chart

Draw a death with an X, the years and the age

  • Draw an X through the symbol. The editor draws it when you set the Status to Deceased in the Vitals & dates section of the person's panel.
  • Write the birth and death years above. On the Multicultural Family Institute's genogram symbol sheet, the birth year is written above the symbol on the left and the death year on the right. Once you enter the birth and death dates, the editor prints both with a dash between them, as above Harvey's square.
  • Write the age at death inside the symbol. The editor works it out from the two dates, so 79 is written in Harvey's square, while a living person's symbol has their current age.
  • Write the cause under the name. Add a property named Cause of death in Other information and turn on Show in diagram, as for Harvey, Doris and Stuart.

The life status section of the genogram symbols chart shows the deceased symbol beside the pregnancy symbols, and the grief and loss genogram example shows losses across the generations of one family.

Avoid two common mistakes with deaths

Mark a spouse's death with the widowed line

Common mistake
Correct

Slashes on a couple line mean a separation or a divorce, so draw a marriage that ended in a death as widowed, a solid line with an X.

Keep a child who died in the birth order

Common mistake
Correct

If you leave out a child who died, you change the birth order of the others, so draw the child in place, with the oldest on the left, and an X through the symbol.

Questions people ask

See every genogram symbol
What is the genogram symbol for death?

The genogram symbol for death is an X drawn through the person's square or circle. The birth and death years are written above the symbol, and the age at death inside it.

How do you indicate deceased on a genogram?

Draw an X through the symbol, write the birth year above it on the left and the death year on the right, and write the age at death inside. In Genogram Pro, set the Status to Deceased and enter the birth and death dates, and the editor draws all three.

Where do you write the cause of death on a genogram?

Write it as a short label under the name, such as "Car accident" under Stuart, "Stroke" under Harvey and "Lung cancer" under Doris.

What does an X mean on a genogram?

An X through a person's symbol means the person has died. In Genogram Pro, an X on a couple line is a marriage that ended when one partner died.

How is a stillbirth or a miscarriage drawn?

A stillbirth is a small square or circle with an X, and a miscarriage is a triangle with an X. Both are drawn in their place in the birth order, with the year of the loss.

Start your genogram from this example

Open it in the editor, swap in your own names and dates, and export it as a PNG or PDF.

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