Permanent Reminders

With the tattoo count at 60, here lies the stories behind a number of Harry's most renowned tattoos.

Butterfly Tattoo

The infamous butterfly tattoo represents transformation. Harry got this tattoo to symbolize the different stages in his life throughout his music career and how he's changed and transformed into the person he is today.

Swallows Tattoo

It is believed that sailors would get this tattoo to symbolize their sailing experience because swallows represent love and travel. Harry found this meaning fitting to his life because his job requires him to be away from home the majority of every year.

“[the swallows] symbolize traveling, and we travel a lot.” Harry also said, “I like that kind of style of tattoos, like the old sailor kind of tattoos.” -Harry Styles

Ship Tattoo

This is also an old sailors tattoo. Harry mentioned in an interview that he got this one as a reminder that he will always find his way back home after being on tour.

Gemma Tattoos

Harry's family means the world to him. In fact, he has a few tattoos for his older sister, Gemma. The first is her name written in Hebrew. The second is a "g" on his left shoulder. And the third is of an iced gem cookie which is a popular British biscuit. Gemma's nickname is Gem, so it seems fitting.

"A" Tattoos

Harry has two "A" tattoos inked on his body for his mother, Anne Twist. One of them is on his right shoulder which corresponds to the "g" on his left shoulder for his sister. The other initial is on his left arm.

"R" Tattoo

This initial is in tribute to his stepdad, Robin Twist, who had made a big impact on Harry's life. Robin helped Anne raise both Harry and Gemma after the divorce from Harry's biological father, Desmond Styles.

1957 & 1967

These two dates are tattooed on both of his collarbones. The 1957 represents the year his father was born and the 1967 represents the year his mother was born.

"Jackson" Tattoo

This name is written in cursive on his left arm and a tribute to someone he loves. Jackson is the name of Harry's godson, who is also the son of Cal Aurand, the former photographer for One Direction.

NY, LA, & Lon Tattoos

New York, Los Angeles, and London are the three cities that Harry considers to be home.

"Late Late" Tattoo

Harry has multiple tattoos with humorous stories behind them and this is just one of them. When him and his former band, One Direction, were on the Late Late show hosted by James Corden, they played a game called Tattoo Roulette. The rules to this game were that each of the boys picked a random box and inside the lid to four of the boxes was the word "SAFE" while there was one unlucky box that had the word "TATTOO" inside. If one of the One Direction Boys picked the "TATTOO" box, they had to get the word "Late Late" tattooed somewhere on their body. On the other hand, if James picked the "TATTOO" box, he would have the get "1D" tattooed somewhere on his body. But of course, Harry was the odd man out on this game.

"Big" Tattoo

Speaking of the Late Late Show, Harry explained what he thought his stupidest tattoo was. This one is the word "Big" on his big toe. In fact, he tattooed this one himself.

Green Bay Packers Tattoo

Harry is a big football fan for the Green Bay Packers. So, during one of their games, Harry decided to make it interesting by betting with his friend Cal, that if the Packers won, Harry would get the team's logo tattooed the next day. He reassuringly asked Cal if they were going to win and Cal of course said yes. Harry being Harry went and got the tattoo without even waiting for the game to end, and having the same luck he did with tattoo roulette, the Packers didn't even win.

"PINGU" Tattoo

This tattoo is also a humorous one because it represents the children's show that he watched as a kid called Pingu. What makes it even better is that Harry got this tattoo with his close friend, Ed Sheeran. Harry just has the name "PINGU" on his arm, but Ed has an actual picture of the penguin character on his.

"BRASIL!" Tattoo

During One Direction's tour to Rio de Janeiro, Harry decided that he loved the country so much, that he got "BRASIL!" tattooed on his upper left thigh. What's funny is that he pulled his pants down just enough for all of his fans during the concert in order for everyone to see what he did.

Of course, these are not all 60 of Harry's tattoos but these are my favorites. The stories behind the ink are constant reminders of his family, his career, and inside jokes to laugh at whenever he sees them.