Family Tattoos for Men
Family tattoos carry a special significance, and mean something different to every person who gets inked with a family symbol. Some family tattoos are particularly popular with men, and express the love and togetherness that is part of the family bond. If you're thinking of getting a tattoo to honor the special people in your life, here are a few of the images that could help you decide which tattoo is right for you.
A number of men get the names of their children tattooed on their chests. This is a popular family tattoo with women as well. A chest tattoo with a person's name means that the individual is close to your heart. Some men also get chest tattoos of other notable people in their lives. For instance, it is not uncommon for a man to get a picture tattoo of his mother or grandmother on his chest as a show of love and devotion.
Some family tattoos for men are also featured on the arm, and often feature the name of the man's significant other. Men often get tattoos of the names of their wives or girlfriends on their arms. An arm tattoo is usually more visible than tattoos on the chest. The arm is also a sign of strength. These tattoos are often accented with another visual symbol of love, such as a heart or roses.
Family-centered quotes are also popular with men who want to honor their relatives with body art. Some family tattoos for men include phrases like "family over everything" or "blood makes you related, loyalty makes you family." Men also get family tattoos that feature their exact sentiments, such as "family is there to pick me up when I'm down" or "there's nothing I wouldn't do for my family." Some of these tattoos are simply words in fancy font, and others include accents like flowers or trees to make the body art more eye-catching.
Some men are also getting tattoos of family trees as a way to pay homage to the people who mean the most to them. The symbol of the tree is often tattooed on the chest, back or arm, and is a way to show family history. Family tree tattoos often feature the names of great grandparents or grandparents, but can also include accents like a grandfather clock or infinity symbol. These accents signify the notion that family is forever, and that there is always something to learn from previous generations.
There are also family tattoos that feature cultural or religious symbols that are indicative of the tattoo wearer's beliefs and ethnic heritage. For instance, West African Adrinkra symbols are sometimes features in tattoos for African or African American families. Hispanic men who get family tattoos often include their native country's flag. Crosses and praying hands are included in family tattoos as well, to show that the family has a strong spiritual foundation.
While these are some of the most popular family tattoo ideas for men, you can use these as inspiration to create a tattoo tribute to your loved ones that is all your own.
Check out the best family tattoos for men
This black and white family tattoo is perfect for larger areas. It features a lightly-sketched, gently distressed scroll with a quill pen at the bottom. The words of the scroll are inked in heavy black at the top and lighter black towards the bottom and discuss that one's family is a compass.
This family tattoos idea is a beautiful tribute to a loved one. Featuring a simple scroll and cursive script, this black and white image is classic, and you can customize it with the name of your family member. Its small size makes it ideal for areas like the forearm.
This black and white family tattoo design incorporates the names of family members in heavy black cursive ink. The names are printed inside a scroll which has rough, slightly crumpled edges giving it a realistic feel. This is a great choice for medium size areas.
One of our best family tattoos for guys, this image depicts a small unrolled scroll with crumpled edges. The scroll is outlined in black, and the family member's names are also printed in black cursive script. For added interest, light red ink is used behind each name to allow the names to really pop out of the image. Red hearts at the bottom of the scroll add a touch of elegance and unite the image.
Classic tattoo ideas for men like this one are perfect for smaller areas. This classic red love heart with a cupid's both through it has been given an edgy update with deeper red ink, a flowing banner with black accents, and drops of blood on the end of the arrow itself.
This black and white tattoo design is a great choice for a first tattoo. One of our simpler designs, it features a lightly outlined scroll with 3 names inside it in cursive script. Gentle ruffling of the edges of the paper gives a realistic feel while shading and smudging of ink at the lower portion of the scroll adds depth.
This is a loving, iconic tribute to a departed family member. It features a child, in black and white, releasing a red heart-shaped balloon into the air. The name and death date of the deceased relative is elegantly inked in beautiful black cursive script on the left underneath the balloon.
Ideal for larger areas, this tattoo design shows a quote "Family First" in heavy black ink scrawled in a semicircle across the upper chest. Each letter is highly detailed with lots of curly lines and swirls to give this quote an artistic uplift.
This vibrant, full color tattoo depicts a vintage revolver in silver, gold, and brown surrounded by pinky-red spring flowers with deep green leaves. A white banner with the word "Dad" flows from the top to the bottom of the image. This style is best for small to medium areas.
This black and white tattoo features an intricately drawn family tree, the leaves and trunk of which are highly detailed. The three main branches of the tree are all encircled by a banner that drapes through the tree leaves and down to the base of the trunk. The banner is inscribed with dates.
More family tattoos for men on the next page...
If you're looking for an edgy, heavily-inked tattoo, this one's for you! It shows the word "Family" in white, while heavy black ink is used to make a dark background for each letter. A black star is featured one the first letter of the word, and each letter is linked at the bottom of the design by flowing, swirly lines.
One of our most realistic choices, this design is great for smaller areas like the hand. The word family is inked in black onto a background of lighter, grayish ink that is done in such a way that it appears to form a bandana or handkerchief that is wrapped in 2 layers. The shadowing on this image gives a highly realistic look, so much so that people will have to look twice to make sure you're not actually wearing a bandana!
This tattoo features Christian themes and is done in black and white. Wings spread out from behind the top part of the cross. The words "faith" and "family" are written in heavy black ink on either side of the upper portion of the cross while a banner with the word "strength" drapes gently over the middle to lower portion.
A highly stylized, modern take on the family tree, this medium to large tattoo features a thin tree with branches. Each branch holds the cursive script initial of a family member. The word "Family" is intertwined with the tree's roots, and the quote "We may not have it all together, but together we have it all" is printed beneath this.
This gorgeous, vividly colorful tattoo depicts a heart shape, lightly outlined in black and trimmed with black dots. Inside the heart are 3 red flowers with yellow centers and green leaves. The flowers are shadowed with blue ink on the edges, and a white banner with the word "Family" is draped diagonally across the center of the heart.
This tattoo is inspired by old-fashioned love letters. A 2-in-1 design, it depicts a mug of coffee and a red flower with a "Mom" banner across the center. The other side shows a love letter sealed with a heart and surrounded by the same red flower. A "Dad" banner completes the image. This design is ideal for forearms, wrists, or hands.
Ideal for medium-sized areas, this tattoo is a simple quote done with elegant, modern lettering. It reads in part, "My family is my strength and my weakness." Letters are printed in all black and are lightly inked. Each letter has a gentle curve, and letters and lines of text are spaced out for easy reading and clarity.
This black and white tattoo incorporates several different motifs. Done in black and white, it's ideal for larger areas. It features a heart shape with four large flowers at the bottom of the heart. The heart shape is outlined by the flower stems, and the words "Family First" are printed in the center of the heart in a heavy black cursive script. Shadowing is used to make the script appear shiny.
This modern family tree style works well for small or medium areas. The tree trunk is outlined in swirly black ink but not filled in. The branches of the trees are not filled in and trail off to gentle curly lines. On these branches, the first names of family members are printed in cursive. This black and white design cleverly incorporates white ink within each of the black lines which makes the black ink shimmer.
This black and white tattoo shows the word "Family." The letters are connected at the bottom of the image by a set of lines. The "F" is filled in in heavy black and features a white star. Elegant swirled lines float along the bottom of the design.
More family tattoos for guys on the next page...
This family tree tattoo features an old-fashioned, traditional tree with roots. Throughout the black and white design, banners with names of family members are draped over the branches, trunk, and roots of the tree. This classic tattoo idea is best for medium to large areas.
An edgy, modern take on the classic family tree, this black and white tattoo depicts a family tree that wraps around itself at the trunk. The parents names are written in cursive at the roots of the tree, and the names of the children appear on the tree branches.
Best for large areas, this black and white tattoo shows the words "Family is Forever" printed in a semicircle across the chest. Inked in heavy black cursive, the letters are highlighted by flowing, calligraphy-inspired lines at the bottom of the image.
This modern tattoo is perfect for small areas. It depicts the words "Friends Family Forever" in capital letters in a block style. It's a great option for a first tattoo.
Ideal for medium areas like the forearm, this simple yet elegant tattoo features the word "Family" in black cursive script. The "F" is set slightly apart from the rest of the letters, and each letter is highly-detailed.
Given that the top of the hand is one of the most pain sensitive parts of the body, the significance of any tattoo that you get on this particular spot of the body is heightened. You can just tell that getting this tattoo hurt like hell, which makes the statement of dedication to family all the stronger.
For many, the concept of "family" extends far beyond immediate blood relations. This is especially true in the Latino community. The multicolored flag motifs embedded in the lettering speak to a sense of cultural identity and pride that for many is basically synonymous with family.
When it comes to family tattoo ideas the possibilities are basically endless. You can go with a more traditional family crest type of design, or you can define your own system of iconography, or you can combine both of these concepts, which appears to be the case here with this eagle, heart, and sword design.
Here we have the same family tattoo as before, only here we see it at an earlier stage before the color and the designs were added. As you can see, any time you have a tattoo that features cursive text, getting the original outline right the first time is extremely important.
Here we have an example of how a bunch of different styles of monochromatic text on the back can work together. In addition to the family tattoo in cursive, there are names (most likely the names of family members) in other cursive styles as well as Asian characters.
More family tattoos for men on the next page...
When it's not done properly, this kind of grey scale accentuation of solid black (monochromatic) text can be nothing more than a distraction, and ultimately ends up taking away from the tattoo. In contrast, when it's done by a skilled tattoo artist who knows when to hold back, the right amount of grey scale shadowing can add a real sense of motion and depth to the design.
Chances are that you've seen the bird tattoos on the shoulder in this particular piece many times before. This particular design has its origins in the British navy going back centuries. The bird represented is a barn swallow. One swallow tattoo meant that the sailor had sailed more than 5,000 nautical miles.
Are you trying to come up with different tattoo ideas? Three forceful nouns in a row really makes a strong statement as is evidenced by this tattoo:
Strength. Respect. Loyalty.
As for the visual, the three different words are effectively separated by diamond shapes that almost look like light glints.
Not all fonts are created equal, and any tattoo artist that specializes in family tattoos for men should be able to show a potential clients the same word or phrase done in a variety of different fonts, both cursive and otherwise. There are sites like fontspace.com and other online font repositories that have literally hundreds of different options. You don't have to pay for these sites either; simply type out what you need in each different font and take a screenshot of it.
If you think you're the first one to come up with this particular family tree concept for a back piece, you now have photographic evidence of it having been done at least once before. However, that shouldn't mean that someone else can't put there own unique spin on this family tattoo idea.
This piece is an exercise in rendering textures in greyscale. The key is making sure that the marks are made in such a way that it is possible to unmistakably make out the differences between the shoe leather, the skin on the hands, the finger nails, and the shoelaces.
Not all family tattoos have to make use of text. The subject and composition of this piece definitely make a statement without using any words at all. So far we have been focusing on examples of the family tattoo for men that were text based, so here is the first of a series of family themed tattoos that expresses this concept just with images.
The muted sea green hues definitely adds a mood to this tattoo. There's actually a lot of different shades and contrasts-in order to get the beams of light through the trees to look right (without sacrificing any of the rest of the detail in this tattoo) it would have been necessary to first plot out exactly where the darkest and lightest shades are to be placed. This requires a lot of care, skill, and foresight.
The almost graffiti style clouds are a nice touch, as are the deep intertwined roots which suggest "family" without overstating it.
This is a great example of what is known it tattooing as 'grey wash'. Grey wash is a very specific technique that has been developed over years that involves mixing blacks, greys, whites, and sepias. It is the only way tattoo artists are able to achieve the black and white photograph texture and realism. It takes years to perfect, and doing it on paper is not exactly the same as doing it on skin. If this is the kind of tattoo you are after make sure to choose an artist who has tonnes of experience with "grey wash".
More family tattoos for guys on the next page...
This tattoo is an example of how to use perspective -in particular the 'vanishing point' principle- in order to create depth. Again, this is a good example of grey wash.
A memorial piece is definitely one that you are going to want to plan carefully with the right artist. For instance, if it's going to feature multiple portraits you need to know exactly where the placement of each particular face or bust is, and how they relate in size-you don't want to end up with one family member's head being way smaller than another's, as this may have some unintended implications.
Another example of a tattoo where there are a lot of different elements and the arm needs to be mapped out carefully beforehand.
The permanence of a bond is expressed here with a person's hand print on the ribs alongside their signature. This ink print effect should be easy to achieve for any talented tattoo artist.
"Family. We may not have it all together, but together we have it all"
A clever play on words-after all, whose family isn't completely bonkers? Still, we love them all unconditionally. The roll of parchment is done in grey wash.
You really do get a nostalgic vibe from this tattoo thanks to the backlit figures of the father and daughter in silhouette. Notice the thin line of bluish white that's used to delineate the solid black figures. This helps them stand out and blend in with the rest of the composition.
Here we have another example of ttwo silhouetted figures shown from the back with a white border surrounding them, only this time it's not white ink. Instead, it's the negative space (the bare skin) that provides the much needed "halo" border that surrounds, separates, and defines the two figures.
Tattoos are becoming almost common place these days. Face tattoos, however, are still fairly taboo in the square world. Under the ear tattoos like this one are still accepted at most workplaces and in most social settings, but this is when the limit begins to get pushed.
The way the lines of the rose pedals are refracted by the cross suggests that it is made out of crystal glass. Notice also the shadows of the leaves and stems which give the impression that the tattoo is lifting off of the chest.
When a child's learning how to express themselves and communicate with words and/or drawing on paper, every time they produce something new it's a momentous step forward. Of course you are going to want to hold onto these keepsakes, and what better way to do this then to have it inked on permanently!