Most families don’t start out knowing they’ll need a second urn.
They begin with one practical question—what happens after cremation?—and then, a little later, another: what do we do with the ashes? That second question is where the conversation quietly widens. One person wants a cremation urns for ashes display at home. Another can’t imagine a permanent spot yet and prefers scattering. A sibling lives across the country and wants something small to keep close. A grandchild asks for “just a little piece” to remember them by.
That’s the moment keepsake urns make sense—not as a product choice, but as a family choice. A keepsake urn is simply a smaller urn designed to hold a portion of cremated remains, so love can be shared without forcing everyone into the same timeline or the same kind of memorial.
And because cremation is now the majority choice in the U.S., this conversation is becoming more common. According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the U.S. cremation rate was projected to reach 61.9% in 2024. The Cremation Association of North America reports a similar national figure for 2024 (61.8%) and projects continued growth in the years ahead.
When cremation becomes the path, families often discover they’re not choosing one memorial decision. They’re choosing a set of decisions—about proximity, ritual, timing, and meaning. Keepsake urns are one way to keep those decisions gentle.
What a keepsake urn is, in plain language
A keepsake urn is a mini urn—sometimes called a mini urn for ashes—made to hold a small amount of cremated remains rather than the full portion. Many are meant to be displayed on a shelf, tucked into a memory box, or kept in a safe place until the family is ready for a scattering ceremony or a final interment.
On Funeral.com, the Keepsake Cremation Urns for Ashes collection describes these as typically holding under 7 cubic inches, which is why they’re often used for sharing among relatives, pairing with scattering, or keeping a small portion at home.
It may help to hear the emotional translation of that: a keepsake urn is a way to avoid turning grief into a tug-of-war. It lets one person keep a small memorial at home while another honors a loved one through water burial or scattering. It lets the person who feels ready move forward, without dragging the person who doesn’t.
If you’re exploring options, you can start with Funeral.com’s main cremation urns for ashes collection and then narrow to keepsakes once you know your plan.
How big keepsake urns are, and what “capacity” really means
The hardest part about small urn size questions is that capacity is measured in cubic inches, while grief is measured in how much you miss them. Families deserve simple guidance.
Think of capacity as a volume marker, not a “how much love fits inside” marker. A keepsake urn is intentionally small because it’s designed for a portion. On Funeral.com, keepsake urns are commonly described as under 7 cubic inches, while small cremation urns for ashes are often under 28 cubic inches—larger than keepsakes, but still not full-size.
Here’s the practical way many families organize the idea:
- keepsake urn capacity: typically unsder 7 cubic inches (a shared portion or personal tribute)
- small cremation urns: often under 28 cubic inches (sometimes used when only a portion is retained, or for smaller memorial plans)
- full-size urns: designed to hold all remains (often chosen when the urn will be the primary resting place)
If you’re thinking about a mini cremation urn set for multiple relatives, don’t worry if you can’t calculate the “perfect” portion down to the cubic inch. The goal is meaningful sharing, not mathematical precision. Many families decide on a number of keepsakes first—one for each child, a partner, a sibling—and then fill them with care, keeping the remainder in a primary urn or temporary container until the next step feels clear.
For a deeper, step-by-step explanation of sizes, filling, and what families typically spend, Funeral.com also has Keepsake Urns Explained: Mini Urns for Sharing Ashes (Sizes, Filling, and Costs).
Keepsake urn vs full size urn: why families choose both
The phrase keepsake urn vs full size urn makes it sound like a competition, but most families don’t experience it that way. They experience it as layering.
A full-size urn is often the “home base.” It’s the place the family expects the ashes to remain—on a shelf, in a columbarium niche, or eventually in a cemetery. A keepsake urn is a satellite: a smaller point of connection for people who need closeness in their own space, or who live far away.
If you already know you want a home memorial, Funeral.com’s guide Keeping Ashes at Home: How to Do It Safely, Respectfully, and Legally is a calm place to start, especially if your household includes children, pets, or frequent visitors.
And if you’re still sorting out your bigger plan—home, burial, travel, scattering—this guide is genuinely helpful: How to Choose a Cremation Urn That Actually Fits Your Plans (Home, Burial, Scattering, Travel).
When families choose keepsake urns
Families usually choose sharing urns for family for one of four reasons, and each one is tender in its own way.
Sometimes it’s geography. When siblings live in different states, one person may keep the main urn while others want a keepsake that feels less like asking for “a piece,” and more like receiving a shared responsibility of remembrance.
Sometimes it’s timing. The family may not be ready to decide what to do with ashes permanently, especially if the death was sudden. Keepsake urns let you move forward with a meaningful object now without locking your family into a final plan today.
Sometimes it’s ritual. A loved one may be scattered at sea, but the family wants a small portion kept for anniversaries, a home altar, or future generations. If water is part of your memorial plan, Funeral.com’s Understanding What Happens During a Water Burial Ceremony is a gentle overview.
And sometimes it’s personality. Not everyone wants the same kind of closeness. For some, a keepsake urn on a bookshelf is comforting. For others, that visibility feels heavy, and they prefer something tucked away until they’re ready.
Keepsake urns and cremation jewelry: two kinds of “close”
There’s a difference between something you keep in one place and something that travels with you. That’s why families often pair keepsake urns with cremation jewelry rather than choosing only one.
Keepsakes tend to be “home closeness.” Jewelry tends to be “daily closeness.” A pendant can be worn to a graduation, an anniversary dinner, or an ordinary Tuesday when grief shows up uninvited.
If you’re exploring wearable options, Funeral.com’s Cremation Jewelry for Ashes collection includes pieces designed to hold a small amount of ashes, and the Cremation Necklaces collection is a focused place to browse styles if a necklace feels most natural.
If you want the practical “how much ashes do you need, and how does it work?” side, this Journal guide is especially clear: Ashes Memorial Jewelry: How It’s Made, How Much Ashes You Need, and How to Fill Jewelry at Home.
Keepsake urns for pets: when grief deserves something real
Families sometimes hesitate to “do too much” for a pet. But grief doesn’t measure love by species, and memorialization isn’t only for humans.
If you’re choosing pet urns for ashes, the same logic applies: a primary urn can hold most remains, while smaller keepsakes can be shared among family members who bonded most closely with that pet. Funeral.com’s Pet Keepsake Cremation Urns for Ashes collection is designed for that purpose, and the broader Pet Cremation Urns for Ashes collection can help you compare styles and sizes for different animals.
There’s also something uniquely comforting about memorial objects that look like “them,” especially for children. If that resonates, Pet Figurine Cremation Urns for Ashes can make a memorial feel less clinical and more like a tribute.
Keepsakes in the middle of funeral planning
It’s easy to assume keepsake urns are something you think about later. But they often belong earlier in funeral planning, because they affect how you talk with the funeral home and how you coordinate family expectations.
If multiple relatives want a portion, you can ask the funeral home to help divide ashes and place them into keepsakes, or you can do it at home when you feel steady. Either is normal. What matters is choosing a plan that reduces stress rather than adding another “task” to grief.
If you’re in the middle of arrangements and need a clear sequence of next steps, Funeral.com’s How to Plan a Funeral in 7 Steps: Honoring a Life with Care helps families move through decisions without feeling scolded by a checklist.
And if cost is part of the pressure you’re carrying (it often is), this guide lays out the landscape in plain language: How Much Does Cremation Cost? Average Prices and Budget-Friendly Options.
A quick word about water burial and scattering rules
If your plan includes scattering at sea, it helps to know that there are federal rules for ocean waters. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency explains that burial at sea under the general permit must occur at least three nautical miles from shore in ocean waters.
That doesn’t mean your memorial needs to feel legalistic or complicated. It just means you can plan with confidence—choosing a scattering approach that fits your family’s values, and then deciding whether to keep a portion in keepsake urns or cremation necklaces so the memorial continues at home, too. Funeral.com’s Scattering Ashes at Sea: Laws, Safety, and Ceremony Ideas walks through the human side and the practical side together.
Choosing a keepsake urn that feels right
When families search for small urns for sale, it’s tempting to choose quickly—especially when you’re emotionally worn out. But “right” is rarely about the prettiest urn on the page. It’s usually about matching the urn to the role it will play.
A keepsake urn that will sit on a mantel may be chosen for beauty and presence. A keepsake that will travel might be chosen for durability and a secure closure. A personalized keepsake urn may be the one that turns a generic object into a specific story—name, dates, a short phrase that sounds like them.
If you’d like to browse with a clear starting point, begin with Keepsake Cremation Urns for Ashes, and if you’re deciding between “mini” and “small,” compare with Small Cremation Urns for Ashes so you can see the difference in intention, not just size.
