Everyone gets a tattoo for a different reason. They don’t necessarily have to have a deep meaning behind them, but some do. Those tattoos carry not only the looks, but also a story within them. What do your tattoos mean? Share your stories and the most interesting ones will be published in a new list on the main page!
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My First Tattoo. The Big Brick Is To Represent My Big Brother Who Died One Day Shy Of His 40th Birthday This Year, In His Favorite Color, And The Little One (Hugging The Larger One) Represents Me, In My Favorite Color. We Always Built Lego Together
I Got This 3 Days After My 18th Birthday, It's My Grandfather Who Died When I Was 7 Holding Up The World In His WWII Uniform
My First Tattoo Had To Be A Sentimental One, My Moms Favorite Saying To Me In Her Hand Writing!
My Fat Unicorn Because I Am Fat, Beautiful And Fabulously Unique... And Probably Imaginary
My Tattoo Is A Reminder That Everything Is Going To Be Ok
I have a “forget-me-not” flower tattooed above my self-harm scarring (that is barely visible now) on my arm. I got it when I overcame my depression. Those flowers used to grow around my great-grandma’s house where I spent most of my childhood - it’s a reminder of happiness and good times. It’s there so I don’t forget that life is not as bad as it sometimes seems to be
In Memory Of My Collie
Must have been a most magical doggy! So sorry you had too see your sweet fuzzy one cross the Rainbow Bridge.
I Have Grapheme Synesthesia. These Are My Number / Color Combos.
Hart, The Spirit Of Forest To Guide Me, Eye Of Horus To Protect Me And Make Me Always Remeber Finite And Death, Leaf Of Ash To Remember World Tree Yggdrasil And That All Is Conected
Dsotm Tattoo Which I Got After My Father, Pink Floyd's Greatest Fan, Passed Away. We Didn't Get Along Well For Years When I Was A Teenager, But We Always Shared The Music. I Cared For Him For 10 Years Prior To His Death, And I'm Grateful For The Time Spent Together. Music Is The Greatest Inheritance I Got From Him.
Olga, My Great Grandmother, Raised Me. She Passed When I Was 19. She Was First Generation American, But Proud Of Her Russian Roots. Originally, I Only Had Her Name, But Felt She Deserved More. She Loved To Be In The Yard Taking Care Of The Plants, So I Added The Lilacs Because They Were Her Favorite To Tend To In The Yard.
I Was Suffering From Depression When I Applied For A Semester Abroad In The Arctic Circle, Successfully Improved My Mental Health And Had The Greatest Experience Of My Life. The Bowhead Whale Reminds Me That There Are Still Parts Of The World, To Be Explored And The Tattoo Reminds Me That I Am Capable Of Anything
Its The Hakuna Matata Symbol Created Out Fo Old Film Strip ... Its Symbolises The Moment I Changed My Carrier From Engineer To Artist . (Just Listen To The Hakuna Matata Song From Lion King)
At My Aunt’s Funeral My Mom Said She Lived With Purpose And Possibility
Had My First Tattoo Two Weeks Before My Sis Moved To Peru, Two Years Later Moved There Myself.
Fiber Obsessed...i Love Fiber So Much I Tatted It On My Body
Charlie Chaplin Portrait With The Quote : "A Day Without Laughter Is A Day Wasted " Its A Reminder For Me To Always Smile And Give Positive Energy To People Around Me :) .
Got This In Memory Of Chris Cornell Right After He Died. He And His Band (Soundgarden) Meant A Lot To Me So I Got Lyrics From The Song "Outshined" Amongst Flowers, My Own "Sound Garden". It Says "Yeah, It Gives Me The Butterflies" Because That's What His Music Does For Me.
My Husband's Initials (A On Top Of An F). He Stood By Me And Waited For Me While I Followed My Dreams And Went And Worked In Shanghai, China For Almost 2 Years.
Should add, I wanted it to look like a Chinese symbol and didnt want it to be too obvious that it is initials. It was also how he used to sign his art works, 1 of the first things that attracted me to him (his amazing creative talent).
(Tattoo #1) I Got This Tattoo, By The Grace Of God On My 10th Birthday Of Being Cleaned Of Drugs.
On tenth birthday "of being clean" from drugs. Not her belly-button birthday. Easy to mix those up.
A Daily Reminder...
I've been through a lot in my life.... I lost my beautiful baby daughter at only 4 and a half months to SIDS, spent time in a hospital for attempted suicide and mental breakdown following her death — I've been misdiagnosed as depressive, bipolar & manic by many different psychologists and psychiatrists before eventually settling on Borderline Personality Disorder... I've had to deal with an abusive father, cheating husband, unstable brother and much, much more. Every day since getting this tattoo I remind myself of everything I've overcome and continue to smile and see the positivity in life. Long story short - ink can truly be a game changer.
Spoon With Triple Meaning. It Represents My Profession (Chef), My Passion For Indian Cooking (It's Actual The Logo From An Indian Restaurant) And The Fact That I'm A 'Spoonie' (Spoon Theory - For Chronically Ill, With Limited Strength Each Day). I Love It - And It's An Daily Reminder To Take It Easy....an My Mentally 'Ekstra Spoon' To Use For Somthing Fun.
I really like how people are getting their crafts/professions on inner arm tats! I've seen a chef's knife, dressmaker's shears and the minister at my dad's funeral had a cross on her arm, which I thought was cool.
Bobbi's Self Portrait - Part Dragon, Part Angel, Part Beautiful Peacock
My Fandom Tattoo = Lamppost - Narnia Ouroborus - X Files (Scully Had A Tattoo Like This); Rose N Thorns - The Arcana Chronicles; Antarian Royal Seal - Roswell; Angel Power Rune - The Mortal Instruments; Light Saber - Star Wars; Arrow - The Walking Dead; Wedjat - Egyptian Mythology; R - Dark Matter (Scifi Show Which Has A Space Ship Called Raza); M - The Originals (The Leads Have The Surname Mikaelson); And The Whole Together Forms: The Deathly Hallows - Harry Potter.
I love how there's so much in there, but the tattoo is elegant, not cluttered at all :-).
My New Tattoo. In Memory Of My Twin Sister Who Has Passed.
Dj, A Memorial Tattoo Of My Boy Dj, I Had Him From The Day He Was Born Till The Day He Died, He Was 14. Now He Is My Lucky Cat :)
This is actually my tattoo, I didn’t mean to post it on my other account. DJ was an amazing cat and the tattoo helped me deal with the loss. I have a couple more that have meaning too.
My Beloved Friend Bono And Tricolor Violas Which Represent My Grandfather. Both With Me Forever
I Had Been Married 20 Years When I Got This Tattoo. It Is From A Poem By William Blake And Reads ‘And Throughout All Eternity I Forgive You, You Forgive Me". Marriage Is Wonderful But Also A Lot Of Work And I Think This Sums It Up. We Are About To Celebrate Our 30th And I Couldn't Be Happier.
My Only Child. She Died On Her 23rd Birthday. She Had A Fluer Di Lis Tattoo And After She Died, Many Of Her Family And Friends Got Them As Well. She Fills My Heart So Much.
This is a wonderful reminder of your beautiful daughter! Really great tattoo! I' m so sorry for your loss <3
My Dad Was A Musician. Always Had His Guitar With Him. When He Dies It Felt Like The Music Died
I Was Suffering From Depression When I Applied For A Semester Abroad In The Arctic Circle, Successfully Improved My Mental Health And Had The Greatest Experience Of My Life. The Bowhead Whale Reminds Me That There Are Still Parts Of The World, To Be Explored And The Tattoo Reminds Me That I Am Capable Of Anything
It's a wonderful tattoo and reminds to a wonderful experience. May your life be wonderful, I wish you all the best!
I've Made My First Tattoo In Sweden, Where I Moved Alone To Study. Windrose Represents My Passion For Discovering The World, And It's Chained To A Little Anchor - A Symbol Of Having Home That I Can Always Come Back To (My Mum).
Got This Heart In A Hand Tatoo, To Remind Myself Of The Past. I Have Had My Heart Broken So Many Times, But This Tatoo Will Always Remind Me That, I Always Had And I Always Will Have The Strength To Go Through Everything. Also It's A Sign Of A Promise To My Dad. I Promised Him To Always Follow My Heart, When I Feel Lost Or Uncertain.
Represents The Impact Moving To A Beach Had On My Family After Growing Up In A Toxic City
Hey Betsy! Dunno if you'll ever see this but during my very early teen years, my mother & sister battled a very bad drug addiction, my dad worked out out of town most of the time. I was fifteen when my parents dragged me kicking & screaming from my home town. Away from my friends, everything I ever knew. When you're that age, it all feels like the end of the world. We left Las Vegas, to end up in a sunny small beach town in Florida. As a family, we learned how to be a strong support system all over again. It was the best rehab we could have hoped for. I was a pretty angry & bitter child (I think anyone would be after the horrors I'd seen,) but I feel lucky to have been taken out of toxicity just in time to learn that a strong family can exist & that I was loved. It's crazy how just a change of scenery can change your entire outlook on life. My family is still pretty strong (though every family has their moments lol) I'm happy & healthy & proud of what I've been through.
🐕❤️
That one that is really nice! Thanks for this, I now know I want one, for the one I lost at 9 weeks and the one I have now. So, thanks again!
I Wanted To Have Something That Represented My Loss At The Time.
I Was Born With A Brain Tumor That Was Like A Smack Of God. Been Tumor Free Since 2001. This Is The Godsmack Simble (Band). Also One Of My Favorite Bands And Reminds Me Of All That I Have Gone Through.
My Beloved Dragon (Story Below)
I was born in the year of the Dragon and my granny gave me a little plastic Dragon as a gift. Needless to say, I have loved Dragons long before Game Of Thrones came into the picture! :) Wanted to get a tattoo, but couldn't find a design that i liked, or a tattoo artist I could trust. I Didn't want a typical cliche Chinese Dragon. Went to Egypt for 4 days for New Year's. My friend referred me to an artist (Morita Tattoo) & was super nervous not knowing how could she would be. We worked on this design for 3 hours & fell in love with it when I saw the complete piece. Now I love my Dragon more & more every day! :)
Labyrinth Tattoo. I Have Always Loved Labyrinth And David Bowie Has Been My Role Model Since I Was A Kid.
Love that movie so much that i named my son jareth, my own personal goblin king, lol
I Made This Eagle For My Father Because Our Last Name Is 'Aguiar', And That's Mean Eagle's Nest
How wonderful, that you would honor your father this way, and with much respect. I imagine he was so amazed that you did this eagle to represent your love for him! I love it's distinction and definition!!! Thank you for posting this photo, of your tattoo.
My Mad Scientist Tattoo From Back When I Used To Think Of Me As Both Mad And Scientist :)
Mark Pellegrino, Supernatural
I LOVE IT but is there a story behind it? I know Supernatural has inspired me, but what about you? (Author)
"I Destroy The Tools Of My Captivity" - To Remind Me That I Am The Only One Able To Free Myself
After Our 15 Yr Anniversary, My Husband And I Got Yin Yang Tattoos.
Latitude/longitude Tattoo Representing The House I Lived In During Uni. So Many Good Memories
...this Tattoo Means Perseverance And Also, I Was Born Under The Sign Of Pisces. My Nickname Also Sounds Like This Fish.
On The Right Is My Family Name Over The Nautical Star And Compass, And On The Left Is The Capricorn Goat Head Over The Nautical Star Surrounded By The Same Constellation. I Had My Family Name Inked Mainly Because Of My Grandpa, And That I Know, I Will Always Have A Home To Come Back To. While The Capricorn One, I Felt That It Truly Reflects My Character And How I Lead My Life.
Chakra Colors (I Made It With My Left Hand, I’m Right Handed)
Frist Tattoo With 18. Its A Reminder Of My Past That Its Over. (Its On One Of My Battle Scars)
That's very beautiful, and probably, very poignant. Thank you for being courageous, and posting this.. some small ones are visible, only because I know what to look for.. Be strong and thank you!! You rock!!
My Mom And I Wanted To Get Matching Anchor Tattoos For Years, But We Didn't Had The Courage To Actually Do It. My Mom Is A Church Going German Teacher Who's Also In The Local Council. That's Why I Surprised Her One Day, Put Her In The Car (She Had No Idea Where We Were Going) And We Got These Tattoos Together. She Got Her First Tatoo At The Age Of 50 And Is Now Seriously Thinking About The Next One. I Love Her!
After Traveling Back And Forth To Rio For The Past 20years And Flying Into Galeoão Airport And Crying Every Time The Plane Dipped Around Corcovado I’d Cry A Little. Just Now Divorced From My Carioca Ex Husband, I Doubt With Me Always.
#maktub From My Fave Novel,the Alchemist, Means 'It Is Written' ... This Is Also A Reminder For Me That If Its Not Meant To Be , It Will Never Be!
My Daughter Her Nice Heart Shaped Drawing, That's The Most Amazing Tattoo That I Have. With A Emotional Story.
Okay, So This One Has A Lot Of Small Details Which Basically Represent The Majority Of The Things I Consider Important About Myself. The Scribble Is Both A Symbol Of My Academic Affiliation, And The Ekg, Reminding Me To Be Grateful To Be Alive. The Two Lines, The Triangle, And The Circle Represent A View From My Homeland: Pines, Mountains, And The Full Moon. On The Other End, There's The Female Symbol, Which, Without The Circle, Is Also A Cross, Since I'm A Christian. It's An Arrow, Since I'm A Sagittarius. The Rainbow Just Speaks For Itself. Overall, It Means To Me To Stay Positive And Always Go Forward In Life.
