15 Tattoos With Backstories That Can Give You a Bittersweet Feeling

Be it a memory of a dear pet or a loved one, we keep them close to our hearts. And what better way to honor these memories than to tattoo them permanently on our skin? This compilation focuses on people who got tattoos for loved ones that brought us to tears, and we enjoyed every second of it.

We at Bright Side strive to create the most delightful compilations, and this one is just that.

1. “Something silly for the ’extra life’ heart surgery gave me”

2. “My first tattoo! It’s a deep-sea angler over a scar.”

3. “A very special tattoo of my cat, Bailey, who passed away at 18 1/2 years old”

4. “Just got a new tattoo! It’s a poem my dad wrote to me the day I was born.”

“So beautiful so, new. Hello Hannah, I’m your Dad… I’ll just go get the pony now.”

5. “My mom passed away a few months ago, and yesterday I got my first tattoo.”

6. “The big brick is to represent my big brother who passed one day shy of his fortieth birthday this year. It’s in his favorite color, and the little one represents me, in my favorite color.”

7. “Got this note my father left me as a tattoo.”

“Love my daughter!! You are my light when it is dark love you tons. Love, Dad”

8. “Tattoos from camping: ’Sometimes, special people come into our lives, stay for a bit, and then they have to go.’”

9. “Finally got to do something creative with my shoulder scar.”

10. “A tattoo of the book my dad was reading when he passed away”

11. “My dad wrote my mom this note when they were too sick to visit each other.”

“I love you, Sean, Christine. Let’s celebrate 99 years with a cruise.”

12. “A tattoo to support my wife’s fight with depression”

13. “A meaningful tattoo done on a friend — she lost her pets but they’re forever with her now.”

14. “A copy of my dad’s tattoo on the right, his is 40 years old.”

15. “Today is my daughter Isabell’s birthday. She would have been 16. She wrote this for me along with a poem when she was 10.”

Which of the tattoos intrigued you the most? Have you ever gotten a tattoo for a loved one?