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: ๐๐ถ๐ธ๐ป โ ideal for names, dates and delicate phrases on wrist, ribs or collarbone.
- Gothic / Old English: ๐ฌ๐๐๐ โ chicano and traditional style, perfect for short words with presence.
- Elegant italic: ๐ด๐๐๐ โ clean and timeless, very readable at small sizes.
- Bold cursive: ๐จ๐๐๐ โ 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 (๐ฌ๐๐๐ vs ๐๐๐๐).
- 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 (โ, โก, โ, โ ) โ you can copy them from our symbols tool.
Tattoo alphabet (cursive and gothic)
Cursive:
๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ก ๐ข ๐ฃ ๐ค ๐ฅ ๐ฆ ๐ง ๐จ ๐ฉ
๐ช ๐ซ ๐ฌ ๐ญ ๐ฎ ๐ฏ ๐ฐ ๐ฑ ๐ฒ ๐ณ ๐ด ๐ต ๐ถ ๐ท ๐ธ ๐น ๐บ ๐ป ๐ผ ๐ฝ ๐พ ๐ฟ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐
Gothic:
๐ ๐
โญ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ โ โ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ โ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ โจ
๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ก ๐ข ๐ฃ ๐ค ๐ฅ ๐ฆ ๐ง ๐จ ๐ฉ ๐ช ๐ซ ๐ฌ ๐ญ ๐ฎ ๐ฏ ๐ฐ ๐ฑ ๐ฒ ๐ณ ๐ด ๐ต ๐ถ ๐ท
Tattoo phrases in each style
- Family โ ๐๐ช๐ถ๐ฒ๐ต๐ ยท ๐๐๐ช๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ถ
- Endless love โ ๐๐ท๐ญ๐ต๐ฎ๐ผ๐ผ ๐ต๐ธ๐ฟ๐ฎ ยท ๐๐ซ๐ก๐ฉ๐ข๐ฐ๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ฌ๐ณ๐ข
- Faith โ ๐๐ช๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฑ ยท ๐๐๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ฅ
- Freedom โ ๐๐ป๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ธ๐ถ ยท ๐๐ฏ๐ข๐ข๐ก๐ฌ๐ช
- Carpe Diem โ ๐๐ช๐ป๐น๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ถ ยท โญ๐๐ฏ๐ญ๐ข ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ช
- Mom โ ๐๐ธ๐ถ ยท ๐๐ฌ๐ช
- Always together โ ๐๐ต๐๐ช๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ป ยท ๐๐ฉ๐ด๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ฌ๐ค๐ข๐ฑ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ
- Strength โ ๐ข๐ฝ๐ป๐ฎ๐ท๐ฐ๐ฝ๐ฑ ยท ๐๐ฑ๐ฏ๐ข๐ซ๐ค๐ฑ๐ฅ
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 ยท Gothic ยท Italic ยท Symbols ยท Letter Styles