It is well-established that the majority of the dead were not commemorated, as supported by studies including the University of Leicester Graveyards Group (2012). The use of funerary monuments to mark graves and commemorate the dead gradually increased across the 18th and 19th centuries – but some of the deceased were better remembered than others. This paper posits we re-examine funerary monuments with a more critical eye and examine the inequalities present in their prose (or lack thereof). It shall be demonstrated that several variables contributed towards whether a person was better commemorated than another, or even commemorated at all. This paper derives from research undertaken for a Masters dissertation investigating the functions of 19th-century funerary monuments erected within York Cemetery. The discussion considers the visibility of such monuments, and the efforts some bereaved took to heighten the profile of their monuments. The order in which individuals are commemorated on these monuments is also very telling of who those monuments were primarily erected for. The discussion concludes by juxtaposing the commemorated and buried populations to understand if monuments accurately convey the buried reality of burial spaces and explore why they may not do so. These results have broader implications for what we consider the purpose of funerary monuments to be, and the function(s) they serve within cemeteries. The results also suggest we should consider funerary monuments in a new light, since this paper will demonstrate to be buried beneath a monument was no guarantee of commemoration.