Tattoo lettering: choose the style for your phrase
Before tattooing a name, a date or a phrase, it helps to see how it looks in different lettering styles. Type your text above and compare it in cursive (the classic for fine, elegant tattoos), gothic (old english, the chicano and traditional style), italic and more. Copy the one you like to show your tattoo artist or keep as reference.
The most tattooed lettering styles
- Cursive / fine lettering: 𝓐𝓶𝓸𝓻 — ideal for names, dates and delicate phrases on wrist, ribs or collarbone.
- Gothic / Old English: 𝕬𝖒𝖔𝖗 — chicano and traditional style, perfect for short words with presence.
- Elegant italic: 𝐴𝑚𝑜𝑟 — clean and timeless, very readable at small sizes.
- Bold cursive: 𝑨𝒎𝒐𝒓 — more weight for phrases that must be seen from afar.
Tips before tattooing a phrase
- Check the spelling (twice!). A tattoo with a typo is forever.
- Think about size: very fine cursives can blur over the years; at small sizes, cleaner styles work better.
- Try uppercase and lowercase: the same word changes a lot (𝕬𝖒𝖔𝖗 vs 𝖆𝖒𝖔𝖗).
- If it's in another language, confirm the meaning and spelling with a native speaker.
- Bring the reference printed or on your phone: your artist will adapt the design to your skin.
Besides the text, many lettering tattoos combine symbols (∞, ♡, ✝, ★) — you can copy them from our symbols tool.
Tattoo alphabet (cursive and gothic)
Cursive:
𝓐 𝓑 𝓒 𝓓 𝓔 𝓕 𝓖 𝓗 𝓘 𝓙 𝓚 𝓛 𝓜 𝓝 𝓞 𝓟 𝓠 𝓡 𝓢 𝓣 𝓤 𝓥 𝓦 𝓧 𝓨 𝓩
𝓪 𝓫 𝓬 𝓭 𝓮 𝓯 𝓰 𝓱 𝓲 𝓳 𝓴 𝓵 𝓶 𝓷 𝓸 𝓹 𝓺 𝓻 𝓼 𝓽 𝓾 𝓿 𝔀 𝔁 𝔂 𝔃
Gothic:
𝔄 𝔅 ℭ 𝔇 𝔈 𝔉 𝔊 ℌ ℑ 𝔍 𝔎 𝔏 𝔐 𝔑 𝔒 𝔓 𝔔 ℜ 𝔖 𝔗 𝔘 𝔙 𝔚 𝔛 𝔜 ℨ
𝔞 𝔟 𝔠 𝔡 𝔢 𝔣 𝔤 𝔥 𝔦 𝔧 𝔨 𝔩 𝔪 𝔫 𝔬 𝔭 𝔮 𝔯 𝔰 𝔱 𝔲 𝔳 𝔴 𝔵 𝔶 𝔷
Tattoo phrases in each style
- Family → 𝓕𝓪𝓶𝓲𝓵𝔂 · 𝔉𝔞𝔪𝔦𝔩𝔶
- Endless love → 𝓔𝓷𝓭𝓵𝓮𝓼𝓼 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 · 𝔈𝔫𝔡𝔩𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢
- Faith → 𝓕𝓪𝓲𝓽𝓱 · 𝔉𝔞𝔦𝔱𝔥
- Freedom → 𝓕𝓻𝓮𝓮𝓭𝓸𝓶 · 𝔉𝔯𝔢𝔢𝔡𝔬𝔪
- Carpe Diem → 𝓒𝓪𝓻𝓹𝓮 𝓓𝓲𝓮𝓶 · ℭ𝔞𝔯𝔭𝔢 𝔇𝔦𝔢𝔪
- Mom → 𝓜𝓸𝓶 · 𝔐𝔬𝔪
- Always together → 𝓐𝓵𝔀𝓪𝔂𝓼 𝓽𝓸𝓰𝓮𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻 · 𝔄𝔩𝔴𝔞𝔶𝔰 𝔱𝔬𝔤𝔢𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯
- Strength → 𝓢𝓽𝓻𝓮𝓷𝓰𝓽𝓱 · 𝔖𝔱𝔯𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔱𝔥
Frequently Asked Questions
What lettering is best for a name tattoo?
Fine cursive is the most used for names and dates; gothic works great for short words. Try your name in both styles above and compare.
Can I take these letters to my tattoo artist?
Yes. Copy the text in your chosen style or take a screenshot as reference; the artist will adapt the strokes to the final design.
Do very fine letters age well?
Very fine lines can expand slightly over time. For small tattoos, choose a clean style with some weight.
Do they work for tattoos in other languages?
Yes for the Latin alphabet. If you want a tattoo in another script (Arabic, Chinese, Japanese), always verify the writing with a native speaker.
Is it free?
Yes, completely free and no sign-up; everything works in your browser.
Other letter styles
Cursive · Gothic · Italic · Symbols · Letter Styles