Ankle Tattoos for Men

Ankle tattoos have largely been chosen by women in the past, but in recent times we have seen a good increase in the demand of ankle tattoos for men. The issue that prevented men from getting ankle tattoos was that they didn’t show this particular part of the body as often as women did. As fashion progresses, wearing pants and shoes which show ankles or going sockless are two of the largest trends in 2016, so ankle tattoos are receiving some much-needed attention. In this article, we will give you a couple of ideas about what to get tattooed and what are the main advantages and disadvantages of ankle tattoos for men.

Ankle Tattoo Benefits for Men

Arguably, the biggest advantage is that fact that this tattoo can be shown or hidden at will. Just wear normal pants and socks and you will have no problem hiding the tattoo in an environment where you want to do so. There are a couple of disadvantages too, the largest worth mentioning are the relative small size of the area and it’s sensibility. Ankle skin is fairly sensitive, so the tattooing process might hurt.

The Most Popular Ankle Tattoo Designs for Men

As far as symbolism goes, ankle tattoos are often chosen by people who don’t want to flaunt a tattoo all day long, and care more for small, symbolic images or characters rather than large works of art that work well on their own. Men often choose small, sleek designs for their ankle tattoos, but sometime also get larger pieces, that start from the ankle and end at the knee. If you’re looking for inspiration for your ankle tattoo, here are a few things you could consider:

• Tribal, Celtic or other classic designs - These work well due to their good symbolism and relative small size, and have a good visual impact when shown.

• Names or dates - The ankle is a great place for tattooing the name or birthday of a loved one, because you have very easy access to it - no need to remove 3 layers of clothing to show it.

• Abstract watercolor tattoos - Although these might hurt, the artsy effect will surely be great and will act like a permanent colorful spot, regardless of what you wear with it.

• Wings and feathers - The symbolism here is the main attraction of the tattoo, making it one of the most common choices in ankle tattoos for men.

• Minimalist symbols - Anything can work: cats, plants, animals, portraits, religious symbols, musical notes, zodiac signs as long as they are minimal in design and don’t take up a lot of space. The choice is yours here!

• Japanese, Arabic or other foreign characters - If you’re looking for a tattoo in a different alphabet, the ankle is a good place to put it.

• Bands - Some people enjoy tattooing bands around their entire ankle and even adding some symbols inside or around these bands.

• Birds - Bird tattoos are usually made in 2 areas: the upper back / neck and around ankles. If a bird tattoo does mean something to you, consider getting it on your ankle.

Of course, there are a lot more ideas you should consider when getting an ankle tattoo. More often than not, this is not the first tattoo a man gets, so you might already know a couple of things about tattoos. Remember the basic idea: get something that you are sure that will represent you for the rest of your life, not something that will fade out in the next few years. The rest is entirely up to you and your creative mind. We hope our hints helped!

Check out the best ankle tattoos for men

The look of a modern rebel with a strong attitude, the unique combination of leisure and class, the presentation of masculine but still with a strange glimpse of smoothness, a car, an open road, this tattoo has all of that.

This design of tattoo would be the one that a brave man would wear. Not the brave man as we know him, but the shy and clever one. A simple writing of “Carry On” is a philosophy of life, the philosophy concerned people who would wear this type of tattoo.

The place where images of wings should appear the most, since they are a mark of Greek god Hermes, who presented wisdom but also quickness. This simple but clever tattoo is a good way to celebrate some of your victories, some of your advancements in life.

A truly great design that is based on repetition with a small variation. It reminds us on the old carved shapes on the Roman wall or temple. It has the toughness, but combined with elegance and passion. It seems like that repetition tattoo is always a good choice.

This one is old school. A strongly drawn cross in the mist-like papyrus. It looks like something that hard-core punkers would wear, it contains severity, the street severity. A man who wears that kind of tattoo is usually a very strong person, with strongly decided attitudes.

Fish tail that dives into the water is a fine witty tattoo. However, it’s the design that makes her the most interesting because of the meticulous way they have been drawn. Again, we have the good repetition, and variety of shapes that lead us into this mysterious fish.

Another brave idea. There are various shapes and images you can place on the full are between your knee and ankle. Let us see this fine image of a fish-like creature, which stands in the middle. The image is a pure classic, it’s a design that you cannot miss.

This one is also classy, but with a strong note of modernity. The shape is completely classical, it reminds us on the English pound sign (£). Along with that classical characteristic, there is also a modern one presenting force and brutality that marked the last century.

A great gothic design is giving us a symmetrical image of two birds. Birds? Ravens, actually. Yes, raven is a special bird that comes in front of the danger, and serves like a messenger, a messenger that wants to point us on the danger.

This flower tattoo design is all about the beauty, the beauty of the ankle tattoo and the beauty of life. The flowers on this image are colorful, just like life is, and the collection of shapes is simply wild, just like life is.

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Another classic ankle tattoo, a wing. Again a great reference to the ancient Greece, where gods walked among men. This one is portraying justice, it is portraying strength, and it represents freedom. A very strong tattoo design, indeed, not anyone could wear it.

Animal tattoo designs are always a good choice. The variety of animals offer a variety of symbols, so you can chose the one that describes you best and place it below your knee. However, this one can also be a mysterious one, because if you look carefully enough, you can see a shark in the back of the turtle.

Imagine that you have a tattoo like this, huh? A “pleasant surprise” on your ankle. The basic color contrast between the writing and the leg, is emphasizing the importance of this word. A great tattoo idea for man, a great minimalistic idea.

This tattoo design is a piece of art, nobody can deny it. If you’d find a word to describe it, it would be - poetry. Yes, this ankle tattoo design is a great connection of ancient images. The wolf is sleeping in a womb-like surrounding, where nature and home is. But, what would happen if he’d woke up?

An ankle tattoo that has the right and a strong statement about the life. The design of the fire is an old symbol presenting a great, uncontrollable force. It’s enough to mention that the fire is one of the Four Elements so we would understand the variety of meanings this tattoo can combine.

The Disco tattoo design. There’s nothing strange in this design, there is nothing mysterious, he’s all about good fun and good times in life. The variety of colors are supporting the previous sentence, and it also presents a colorful life.

The ankle tattoo that contains all masculine rules. The repetition and strong lines and shapes, and also the lack of colors, represent the aggressive and the severe man principle. However, if we see the whole picture and not just the parts, there is an image of rows of houses.

A good, classy tattoo design, probable would this one be a consideration of Nick Cave. The rose, with its dark shapes, remind us on a cold beauty we find in the outlaws and weirdos, and how they are a spice in the life. However, on the other side is a mark that even outlaws can love.

Ankle tattoo design with a strong message. We see only a small image of a bird, cartoonish bird. However, this bird is showing the great wisdom of accepting your contrasted side. It’s not unusual that the ankle tattoo with an image of a bird reminds us on Hermes again.

An ankle tattoo that gives respect to the late, H. R. Giger. Probably one of the basic sci-fi ideas, a wolf in sheep’s skin, a robot in men. The contrast between strong shapes of robots tissue and white, smooth tissue of men’s skin are emphasizing this.

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This tattoo image is made for the strongest ones. It’s all there: the severity in black color, the order in the sharp shapes, and royalty in posture. These are all the characteristics of Hermes, who had marked another tattoo, thus creating him a fine choice for a symbolic tattoo.

Another classic ankle tattoo, a wing. Again a great reference to the ancient Greece, where gods walked among men. This one is portraying justice, it is portraying strength, and it represents freedom. A very strong tattoo design, indeed, not anyone could wear it.

This tattoo design is a minimalist pearl. Actually, it’s so minimalist that you might not even notice it. However, the tattoo for men idea of small notes and messages, is indeed made for a man that is man of word, who knows how to read small notes that life is giving us.

Fish tail that dives into the water is a fine witty tattoo. However, it’s the design that makes her the most interesting because of the meticulous way they have been drawn. Again, we have the good repetition, and variety of shapes that lead us into this mysterious fish.

An ankle tattoo design, which beauty is hidden in minimalism. Shapes are highly symbolic, and they represent the wholesome of life, and its circling. The anchor is there to stop it and to mark a special point in the circle. A special point would be a nice chance to do a symbolic tattoo like this.

These ankle tattoos feature ink that is on the front of the leg facing out. "Run fast" is inked on this guy in black ink with room left in between the lining. This tattoo would be a disaster in other fonts, but the cursive and the color makes it a decent ankle tattoo idea.

This ankle tattoo features a rosary. It's one of those tattoo ideas for men that will definitely intrigue you if you are religious. Basic dark ink and a link around the ankle with a cross hanging from it is simple but well done and looks great on just about any guy.

This ankle tattoo is a Celtic Shield Knot. This knot is an ancient symbol of protection that was placed on battle shields or near sick people to ward off danger or evil. The four cornered knot is a traditional Celtic symbol that is a great way to honor your Celtic ancestry and is believed to invoke the gods' protection.

If you're looking for simple ankle tattoos for guys, why not go with a geometric shape? A simple outlined triangle on the ankle is cool and doesn't even particularly symbolize anything. Either way, you'll look punk rock with this triangle outline tatted there, and you can always fill it in.

Looking for cool tattoo ideas? Why not try out a star? This tattoo features a black star with Celtic knot inspiration and a circle embedded with alternating black triangles. It's visually striking and will get you a lot of compliments too.

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Ankle tattoos for guys can be silly, too! This little penguin demonstrates that. This penguin doesn't even care, he's just waltzing through life. You can leave his belly to be the color of you skin-- no need to get white ink.

Go tropical with a simple black palm tree ankle tattoo for men! If you live on the west coast, this is a cool way to show your west coast affiliation. Plus, it'll go great with any tropical or floral print clothing you happen to don.

Tattoo ideas for guys don't get much cooler than these detailed wing designs. One wing on each foot and you'll feel like you're Hermes himself. Great for runners or those who just like the way these wings look.

Asian symbols are a classic tattoo and the perfect choice for ink on your ankles. Spend some time looking up symbols that you might want to get and think about colors. This guy went with classic black, always a good option.

When considering ankle tattoos, why not go with a bigger piece? This simple angel wing is detailed with shading for an end result that is phenomenal. You can color in or leave it outlined-- it's up to you.

This is a similar wing idea with a different twist. The wing is a bit darker as it's filled in on the body, and at the start of the wing there is a pendant with a snake on it. This wing is vertical and fairly large, but you can adjust the size to your liking.

This rose with barbed wire running through it is one of the coolest tattoo ideas for men we've seen in a long time. Roses typically go on the arm, but reinvent the rose tat by using it as an ankle tattoo instead. Tough but beautiful, a great ankle tattoo idea.

Often times ankle tattoos for guys feature a girl's name and imagery. It's a special way to honor the lady that you love. This ankle tattoo features a Calla Lily with a name and ornate touches-- simple, beautiful, and sweet. She'll love it.

Anchor tattoos are one of the most popular ankle tattoos for guys. They are simple, cool, and definitely a classic. You can place them wherever you like and the size and color are up to you. This dude chose classic black for his anchor-- looks good!

This stallion ankle tattoo is a good example of how something simple and small can still have a big impact. This stallion may be small, but it's the delicate shading and great ink work that truly makes it stand out. a great ankle tattoo that you won't regret any time soon.