Harry Styles’ Tattoo Tour: Photos and Meanings of His Tattoos

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Birdcage

On the left side of his ribcage, Harry has an empty birdcage design with two theatrical masks underneath it. He appeared to have gotten the ink in 2012.

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Rose

Early on in his music career, Harry debuted a large rose tattoo on his left elbow in 2013.

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Harry Styles wearing a white T-shirt and sitting down with his arms crossed

A Ship

Tattoo artist Freddy Negrete explained in a 2013 interview that Harry wanted this English ship design because he “miss[ed] home and need[ed] to remind himself that [he was] homeward bound.”

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Harry Styles walking outside wearing a blue button-down shirt and a brown hat

Butterfly

Harry has a large butterfly tattoo sprawled across his chest. He appeared to have received the ink in 2013.

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Harry Styles wearing a yellow collared shirt

Anchor

Across his left arm, Harry has a few under-the-sea-themed tattoos, including this anchor on his left wrist that covered up a previous tattoo, which read, “Things I can’t change.” Harry appeared to have gotten the anchor in 2014.

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Harry Styles walking to his seat while at a game, wearing a black outfit and hat

Mermaid

As for the mermaid design on his left forearm, Harry cited the simple reason he got this tattoo during a 2014 interview: “I am a mermaid.”

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harry-styles-running-jogging-italy-rome-new-mustache

Handshake

On the back of his left arm, Harry debuted this handshake design in 2014. The ink is widely believed to be a sign of equality, but Harry has not publicly explained the meaning behind the body art.

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‘Late Late’

In 2015, Harry dedicated his “late late” left forearm tattoo to James Corden’s The Late Late Show.

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Harry Styles performing at Coachella Valley Music Festival

Eagle

Harry got this eagle tattoo in 2015 to cover up his previous design on his right arm that read, “Things I can change.”

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‘Olivia’

Though many fans presumed the design was dedicated to Olivia Wilde, others shared different theories about the meaning behind Harry’s thigh tattoo. Apart from One Direction’s 2015 song “Olivia,” fans also pointed out that Harry’s older sister, Gemma Styles, has a cat named Olivia. A TikTok user included a screenshot in a July 2023 video from Gemma’s Instagram, in which she gave her cat a shout-out.

However, other fans were still convinced that the tattoo was in honor of the Don’t Worry Darling actress and director. In response to the July 2023 TikTok clip, one commenter alleged, “OMG y’all, just face it. He’s a guy, a normal guy, they make dumb mistakes, like he was in LOVE. It’s his ex’s name, he’s had it for over a year [sic].”