Best designs that celebrate motherhood

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If you want ideas for a mum tattoo and how to honour your kids with ink, you’ve come to the right place.

These beautiful mum tattoo concepts cover everything from mother and daughter inkings to tattoos honouring a loss, and whilst the look of each piece is very different, the meaning is always the same – a permanent reminder of your love for the family you’ve created.

Whether you want ideas for sibling tattoos or solo ones, and whether you’re preparing for your very first piece or you’re already a tattooed mama, here is all of the inspiration you need for a tattoo for your kids that you’ll cherish forever.

Now you’ve just got to be brave enough to go under that needle…

Best mum tattoo ideas

Make it personal with their names:

Model and TV presenter Chrissy Teigen and her singer-songwriter husband John Legend both have their children’s and each other’s names tattooed on their respective forearms and upper arms. Following her tragic miscarriage in 2020, Chrissy also got her late son’s name Jack tattooed in the same font on her right wrist.

Mark their date of birth with a simple statement:

Chrissy Teigen has another simple yet sentimental tattoo honouring her children and cherished family members from 2019. The inking is a single needle tattoo by famous artist Winterstone and bears the birth dates of her dad, mum, husband John Legend, and kids Luna and Miles.

Say it with their star sign:

Actress Jessica Alba is another celebrity with a special mum tattoo. She honoured her three children Honour, Haven and Hayes with delicate inkings of their astrological sign constellations.

Symbolise their sweet nicknames:

American actress and mum Busy Phillipps has a tattoo of a bird and cricket to represent her two daughters Cricket Pearl and Birdie Leigh.

 Ink their hand prints:

This proud mum had tattoo artist Katie Kemp recreate her son’s colourful hand print.

 

Make their fingerprints permanent:

This mum tattoo immortalises her daughter’s small fingerprints in a sweet love heart design.

Cherish them with a thoughtful footprint:

One mum asked tattoo artist Rach of Rolling Ink to carefully create this footprint full of sentimental details like her daughter’s name, arrival time, weight and date of birth.

Have their heartbeat above your own:

This Portland mum’s inking ensures her son is always close to her heart – quite literally.

Consider their place of birth coordinates:

Like this mum, American actress Angelina Jolie was also inspired to ink the coordinates of her global family’s birthplaces.

Immortalise your favourite photograph:

Talented tattooist David Marcu was able to bring this treasured photo to life in great detail.

Have their handwriting inked:

We love this idea of using your kid’s handwriting to pay tribute to them. Be it their name or a sweet message or sentiment like the tattoo above.

Capture your kids’ artwork:

Like their handwriting, you could have your child’s colouring recreated as a unique commemorative tattoo.

Frame their names with flowers:

Incorporate some of your favourite blooms with your baby’s names for a tattoo with a difference.

A detailed mother and baby image can be gorgeous:

There’s plenty of #Motherandbabytattoo inspiration to be found on Instagram.

Find a family portrait that works for you:

This simple and stylish tattoo design by Mr Onskin makes a perfect commemorative mum tattoo.

Or ink your child’s own family portrait:

We love the simplicity of this inking that clearly represents the whole clan.

Opt for a motherhood symbol like this Celtic knotwork:

Clean and interpretive, we believe this design shows a mother hugging her son.

Linework also makes a simple but striking statement:

Hand-draw your own symbol like this proud mum and take it to your tattoo artist for an extra-special inking.

Symbolise your relationship with locks and keys:

Show off the keys to your own happiness – your kids – in a tattoo like this love lock and key one.

Try a family tree tattoo and add new members when they arrive:

This mum tattoo is totally inspired and super personal.