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12 Amazing Mom Tattoo Ideas for Mamas Who Want Ink

Tattoos for moms are getting more and more popular, according to Pinterest data.

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Becoming a mom is one of life's biggest milestones, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that many women want to honor their new role as a parent with some sort of meaningful tribute. And for many moms, that means getting a tattoo — in fact, Pinterest searches for "mom tattoo designs" have gone up by nearly 6,000% since December 2018, according to the platform's Pinsights blog.

But if you're looking to honor your little ones in a permanent work of body art, you likely want to start with the best, most heartfelt inspiration possible — and that's where these sweet tattoo ideas and designs for moms come in. Hoping to get something small and symbolic? Check out the morse code and heartbeat tattoo ideas below. Feeling inspired to get something bigger and bolder? Maybe the rose or family portrait tattoo designs will strike your fancy. (Pssst: If your daughter is old enough to get a tattoo of her own with you, you might want to check out these meaningful mother-daughter tattoo ideas too.)

Of course, no matter what kind of tattoo you want, you can work with any artist to bring it to life. Schedule a consultation with your tattoo artist in advance to talk through ideas, look over reference material, and get all of your tattoo-related questions answered before you get inked.

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Initial Tattoo

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Adele has several tattoos representing her son, Angelo — including this subtle letter A tucked behind her right ear.

Heartbeat Tattoo

tattoo ideas and designs for moms - heartbeat tattoo
@allyrunion//Instagram

Subtle but oh-so meaningful, this tattoo on Instagram user @allyrunion's inner wrist shows her son's heartbeat when he first came into the world.

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Rose With Birth Years Tattoo

tattoo ideas and designs for moms - rose with birth years tattoo
@inkbymadeleine//Instagram

If florals are your thing, you might consider a rose design like this one from tattoo artist Madeleine (@inkbymadeleine), which includes the birth years of this mom's two kids within the stem.

Script Names Tattoo

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After the birth of their second child, Chrissy Teigen and husband John Legend got matching tattoos to represent their family. Chrissy's reads "John, Luna, Miles" in a beautiful script font. Meanwhile, John's includes her name.

Family Portrait Tattoo

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@chrislopeztattoo//Instagram

The cutest part of this family portrait tattoo by artist Chris (@chrislopeztattoo)? The sweet nods to Toy Story in the boys' outfits.

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Birth Time Tattoo

mom tattoo ideas and designs - birth time tattoo
@jalayahay.ink//Instagram

Sometimes the simplest tattoos are the most meaningful. This tiny timestamp by tattoo artist Joel (@jalayahay.ink) represents the moment this woman became a mom.

Zodiac Constellation Tattoo

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Astrology fans might want to take a page from Jessica Alba's book: In March 2019, the star got tattoos of each of her three children's zodiac sign constellations down her left forearm.

Morse Code Tattoo

tattoo ideas and designs for moms - morse code tattoo
@jes.mulcahy//Instagram

In morse code, this tattoo by Jes (@jes.mulcahy) contains the letters S and L — the first initials of this mom's two children.

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Footprint Tattoo

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@ivan_martinez_tattoo831//Instagram

Turn your newborn's footprint into a work of art like artist Ivan (@ivan_martinez_tattoo831) did for this sweet tattoo.

Mother-Daughter Tattoo

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@rachel_eleanor_sbt//Instagram

This more abstract option from tattoo artist Rachel (@rachel_eleanor_sbt) includes curving lines representing a mother and her daughter, a birth date written out in Roman numerals, and a pretty watercolor texture.

Stars Tattoo

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Yep, the four stars on the inside of Heidi Klum's arm represent each of her children. (If you look closely, you can see they actually have her kids' first initials inside them.)

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Bird Family Tattoo

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@tattoosbykaty//Instagram

Artist Katy (@tattoosbykaty) gave one client this sweet bird family tattoo, with birds representing her, her husband, and their two kids all lined up a branch.

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