Armband tattoos are extremely popular for both men and women, and can range from delicate to huge! Especially popular in the 90s – think Pam Anderson’s barbed wire armband – these sorts of tattoos are kind of like a permanent bracelet for up the arm. Although upper arm armbands have mainly been popular up until now, lower arm bands are gaining strength too.
One of the most uniquely interesting types of tattoos is the widely popular armband tattoo. This concept revolves around the idea of permanently inking a bracelet, or arm band, onto your arm encircling your biceps, your forearm, or your wrist. The idea is to create indelible jewelry of sorts, and to make a statement concerning your own unique personality by selecting an armband tattoo design that represents your ideals, your beliefs, something you value or that holds important meaning for you.
There are all sorts of common designs that you could choose for your armband tattoo, and the options for customizing an armband tattoo design are endless. Some of the most popular choices for inking an armband include the famous Celtic knot band, barbed wire armband, chain armbands, floral wreath armbands, and so many more.
We’ve checked out dozens of different outstanding armband tattoo designs, and we’re putting together a list of the ones we thought were the most impressive and beautifully inked. Take a look at some of these fantastic images of hot armband tattoo designs:
Most Popular Armband Tattoos
Celtic Knot Armband
This ancient design represents something that is unending, like endless love, or enduring loyalty. The Celtic knot is also sometimes called the “love knot,” especially when more than one path is interwoven together with another. It is also referred to as the “mystic knot,” and the “endless knot,” indicating a deep and timeless spirituality that leads us to consider the infinite cycles of life, birth and rebirth, without beginning or end. The optical illusion of continuously interconnecting pathways creates a mesmerizing special effect that not only has powerful meaning but also delivers an incredible visual impact.
Barbed Wire Armband
Am I the only one that finds this to be painful imagery? In my research, I’ve discovered several very different and distinct meanings behind barbed wire designs for tattoos. One concept relates to Christianity, in which the barbed wire design represents the Crown of Thorns worn by Jesus Christ at his Crucifixion and signifies a deep religious faith. There was a time before World War I when Russian convicts were tattooed with barbed wire designs, and the placement on the body represented the length of the sentence. Barbed wire on the forehead meant a life sentence, while barbed wire as an armband indicated a lengthy sentence but not life. Of course, the barbed wire armband tattoo is often chosen in modern times simply because people like the way it looks.
Native American Feather Armband
In Native American tribal heritage, an eagle feather represented strength, wisdom, power and freedom, and was very important to their spiritual beliefs. If the feather is included in a dream catcher design, it can also symbolize a protective totem. Today, a feather armband tattoo can either represent your own Native American heritage, or if you are not of Indian blood, then you may choose an Indian feather design because of its symbolic meanings or simply because you like the aesthetic beauty of the design.
Tribal Armbands
The concept of “tribal” tattoos doesn’t originate with Native Americans, but actually comes from Polynesian and Hawaiian tribes, where each member of the tribe would be inked with identical tattoos to indicate their familial origins. Today, it seems most people who choose tribal tattoo designs do so just because they look cool, without looking into deeper meanings. The various symbols in tribal armband designs can actually represent important ideals such as strength, wisdom, inner peace, love and family.
Flower Armbands
Do they have to mean anything, or can’t they just look pretty? Floral designs are very popular among tattoos, and a flower armband can actually just be a beautiful tattoo, colorful, feminine and interesting. However, each flower has its own symbolic identity, so choose your flower(s) thoughtfully. White carnations stand for pure love, daffodils symbolize new beginnings, lilies stand for the souls of the departed, and orchids represent beauty. The meaning of roses depends on the color: red is for deep love and passion, pink for gratitude, yellow means joy and friendship, white stands for purity and innocence, and purple roses stand for love at first sight.
More Great Armband Tattoo Designs
Like we mentioned earlier, there are innumerable choices for your armband tattoo design. Whether you choose to get your arm inked with one of the five most popular designs, or whether you go with something more uniquely suited to your own distinctive personality, the idea is to choose your armband tattoo because the design has special meaning for you, and because you truly love its appearance. Here are some more great armband tattoo designs to give you some ideas….
Beautiful