Swallow Tattoo Designs

Swallow tattoos are considered old school sailor tattoos. But they have been revived and are making a great comeback. Swallows symbolize freedom, love and loyalty. You see many people with pairs of swallows, one looking forward and the other looking back, representing ending one chapter and starting a new chapter in life. You can use your imagination and come up with a unique twist to your swallow tattoos if you have the right tools. I'll tell you what those tools are.

Many people get swallow tattoos and sparrow tattoos confused. Swallow tattoos have a lot of symbolism associated with them. Swallows are known to return to the same place year after year. Many of us have heard of the swallows making their trip back to San Juan Capistrano every year. Sailors got swallow tattoos as a symbol that they would return home safely from a trip.

It was also believed that a swallow carried the souls of the dead away. So if a sailor did not return, a swallow carried their soul. Many people get swallow tattoos as in loving memory tattoos of fallen soldiers. A new sailor would get his first swallow tattoo after 5,000 miles, then another after the next 5,000.

It is believed that swallows mate for life so swallow tattoos represent the wearer's belief that he (or she) can find true love. If any of these symbols stir feelings in you then perhaps swallow tattoos are something that you should think about. You want your tattoo to be meaningful. A tattoo that you get just for looks wears off after awhile. A tattoo is meant to be with you for life so you want it to be personal.

If you want to get a swallow tattoo but not quite sure how you want it portrayed, go online to a good tattoo gallery and search the files. The good membership galleries have pictures of swallow tattoos on real people. You can see what a certain design actually looks like. As you browse, use your imagination and think of what would make your tattoo unique.







Swallow tattoos are a popular design that can have many different meanings all over the world. For a sailor the swallow tattoo was widely known as a status symbol. The origin of the tattoo dates back to a ship called “The Swallow.” The ship had a mutiny and in order for the sailors to know one another they each had a swallow tattooed on their chests.





The swallow tattoos were meant to protect the sailor on their journey yet, others believed that if a sailor died at sea and had a swallow tattoo on their chest that it would fly their spirit to heaven. For this reason, swallow tattoos were a great comfort to sailors.





The first swallow tattoo meant the sailor had traveled 5,000 miles and the second tattoo meant they had traveled 10,000 miles. Swallow tattoos are also a symbol of working-class pride, mostly in the UK. Older men with the swallow tattoo were great fighters in their younger years, the tattoo was supposed to give them fast hands. The tattoos meaning is “these fists fly” and can be located on most commonly be located on the back of hands. Swallow tattoos are also at times used in prison as a sign for “white power”, a gang tattoo at times. Then again some freed prisoners get the swallow tattoo as a sign of freedom.