Many youngsters who often get confused about which tattoo design to choose as a first-timer get a butterfly tattoo. A small butterfly tattoo is one of the most popular tattoo designs in the world because it denotes a plethora of meanings to people. The best part of butterfly tattoo designs is that you can easily personalize them and draw them on any part of your body.
Yes!!! A butterfly tattoo design will look good on any part of your body, and so you can get it done on your hand, arm, behind your ear, back, shoulder, neck, etc. A butterfly tattoo design will have different interpretations for different people, from freedom to femininity. That’s why in this article, we will take a look at the best butterfly tattoo designs of 2022.
What Are The Top 20 Butterfly Tattoo Designs Of 2022?
Butterfly tattoo designs have ample meanings, and that is why so many people fall for this beautiful ink design. However, no matter how popular they are in 2021, the trends indicate that these designs will stay even more popular in 2022. That’s why in this article, we will talk about the 20 best tattoo designs that will be the trendsetters in 2022.
1: Monarch Butterfly Tattoo
A monarch butterfly tattoo design is one of the most popular tattoo designs for small butterfly tattoos or large butterfly tattoos. They depict royalty, beauty, rebirth, faith, transformation, the afterlife, and many more.
You can either choose a traditional monarch butterfly tattoo with golden wings, or you can replace one of the wings with a bouquet. It will be a good design for butterfly hand tattoos. The watercolor tattoo style or the blackwork tattoo style will make this tattoo look even more beautiful.
2: Skull Butterfly Tattoo
Skull represents mortality, and a butterfly indicates new life. Together, these two shapes will show a full circle of life and represent the ties between life and death. But, on the other hand, the skull may mean death, while the butterfly may represent life, and the tattoo will represent a contradiction.
Realistic tattoo style will look the best while making a skull butterfly tattoo. If you are looking for a butterfly tattoo design on your hand, thigh, arm, or even your ribcage, this design will be the perfect one. Choose an artist who has experience in detailed artwork for this tattoo design.
3: Butterfly And Flower Tattoo
A butterfly with flowers tattoo design is the popular tattoo choice for many young girls as it indicates young love and romance. It may be a simple butterfly tattoo design, or it may be a grand one depending on how elaborate you make the flower design.
Choosing 3d butterfly tattoo design will be a good option for the flower and butterfly tattoo. This design will also mean joy, summer, grace, and immortality for many people. So, you can get the butterfly flower tattoo done on your back, ear, shoulder, or arms.
4: Semicolon Butterfly Tattoo
A semicolon tattoo of a butterfly means resurrection. People who often suffer from depression, or anxiety, choose this butterfly tattoo design to show their evolution from the suicidal mental state. The traditional tattoo style will be an excellent choice to get this ink done on any part of your body.
If you are looking for a butterfly neck tattoo design, the semicolon butterfly tattoo will be a good choice. It’s better to do a small tattoo for this tattoo design because it won’t look good if you make it much more significant. Just go to a professional tattoo artist, and get this beautiful tattoo done.
5: Blue Butterfly Tattoo
Blue butterflies are pretty rare, so whenever people spot them, it signifies good luck. Just like that, a blue butterfly tattoo also denotes good luck, bliss, love, and several other positive emotions. A new school tattoo style will look the best for a blue butterfly tattoo as it will highlight the color scheme pretty well.
A blue butterfly tattoo behind ears will surely help you stand out in the crowd. Just tie up your beach loose waves in a tight bun, and let your tattoo do the talking. Make sure you use appropriate shading to highlight every minimal feature of this butterfly tattoo design.
6: Red Butterfly Tattoo
A red butterfly tattoo can signify a blue funk or a good omen. It also represents passion and love. Some native Americans used to believe that seeing a red butterfly means great luck is coming their way.
A red butterfly tattoo design will look equally appealing as a butterfly behind an ear tattoo or a butterfly back tattoo. It will look equally good on people with a fair or dark skin tone. A neo-traditional tattoo style will highlight the decorative details of a red butterfly prominently.
7: Tribal Butterfly Tattoo
A tribal butterfly tattoo will be a good choice for a butterfly tattoo on arms. According to the design of the tribal butterfly’s wings, it can signify several changes as life moves forward. A tribal butterfly can also denote metamorphosis, so that’s another popular interpretation.
If you are looking for a maximum impact of this tattoo design, make sure you do it on your neck, back, or shoulder. Contrary to popular beliefs, a tribal butterfly tattoo even looks quite good on men. Just choose an illustrative tattoo style, and amplify your tribal butterfly tattoo at its best.
8: Butterfly Fairy Tattoo
A tattoo of a butterfly and a fairy look like delicate pieces of art when they are put separately. However, if you draw butterfly wings on a fury, it seems even more aesthetic. It gives the angel more of a carnal or sensual touch if the butterfly wings are attached to its body.
A butterfly fairy tattoo gives a sense of mystery, and they will look the best when they are done on someone’s back. The Chicano tattoo style will make this butterfly fairy tattoo completely enthralling as it will capture its ultimate beauty.
9: Wings Butterfly Tattoo
The wings butterfly tattoo design signifies freedom and liberty. Since humans can’t fly, the wings butterfly tattoo will virtually grant them the freedom to travel freely. Line art tattoos would be an excellent design to draw the wings butterfly tattoo on arms.
Just like the angel wings look good on someone’s back, the butterfly wings also look good on people’s back. However, butterfly wings are much smaller than angel wings, so you have to consider that. Hopefully, your tattoo artist will be able to help you with this decision.
10: Series Of Butterfly Tattoo
A series of butterfly tattoos will look beautiful on someone’s forearm, and someone’s back. If a single butterfly tattoo can denote happiness, just imagine what a series of butterfly tattoos signify. You can do this ink in black and white or in color options.
If you wear a stylish party wear dress, and your collarbone reveals a series of butterfly tattoos, you will indeed stand out in the crowd. It will indicate new beginnings, good luck, joy, and vitality.
11: Purple Butterfly Tattoo
A purple butterfly tattoo design will indicate several things like courage, bravery, spirituality, enlightenment, etc. The minimalist tattoo design will look good on the purple butterfly tattoo designs. Make sure you highlight the purple and black strikingly separately to make the tattoo stand out.
It is one of the most beautiful butterfly tattoo ideas, and that is why it may cost more than other butterfly tattoo designs. The purple color is quite unconventional in the tattoo world, so make sure you choose a skilled tattoo artist for this piece of ink.
12: Butterfly Tiger Tattoo
A butterfly tiger tattoo also shows a beautiful juxtaposition of feminine love and masculine passion. If you can just draw the tiger’s face in the form of butterfly wings, it will look fabulous. Choose multiple color schemes to complete this unique tattoo design.
If the butterfly denotes a fragile personality, the tiger will signify sexual prowess, which will be the uniqueness of this tattoo design. In addition, the Japanese tattoo style will make this butterfly tiger tattoo look prominent and outstanding.
13: Star Butterfly Tattoo
The star butterfly tattoo design will look quite good if you do it behind your ears or do it on your forearms. A butterfly sitting on a star will look magnificent and denote royalty, dream, grace, and joy. More than blackwork tattoo style, coloring tattoo designs will look good on it.
It is one of the prettiest tattoo designs to get inked on your body. If you are looking for a butterfly tattoo on your arms, it is a good choice. Make sure you choose the old-school tattoo design if you decide to get this tattoo.
14: Yellow Butterfly Tattoo
Next on our list of colorful butterfly tattoos is the yellow butterfly, which simply denotes joy, and happiness. Irish and Scottish people used to think a soul is resting in peace if a yellow butterfly was seen near a grave.
This butterfly tattoo design will not only look eye-catching but will also symbolize your positive inner emotions. In many cultures, a yellow butterfly tattoo symbolizes new life, so you can do this tattoo and travel freely in many countries without the fear of being misinterpreted.
15: Pink Butterfly Tattoo
A pink butterfly with flowers tattoo denotes female connotations, young love, the excitement of a new relationship, and so on. The aesthetic or watercolor tattoo design will look great on it. The tattoo will stand out more if you do it behind your ear and even wear a diamond stud earring.
Pink butterfly tattoo designs are mainly famous among women because pink is a feminine color representing gentle transformation. This tiny tattoo will undoubtedly bring forth good vibes in your life, so get it inked on your body now.
16: Rainbow Butterfly Tattoo
You can either do a butterfly sitting on top of a rainbow or color the wings of the butterfly in the rainbow color scheme. Both will look aesthetically pleasing because they will signify renewal, rebirth, and transformation.
The LGBTQ community prefers the rainbow butterfly tattoo a lot more than other butterfly tattoo designs as it showcases confidence with their new life. It also signifies the vibrance of a new life so that the portraiture tattoo style will look the best in it.
17: Abstract Butterfly Tattoo
Abstract tattoo designs are combined with symbols from real life, and thus they are open to interpretations. For example, doing an abstract butterfly tattoo with signs of forest, sky, sea, and the human body will mean several things.
Abstract butterfly tattoo designs will look the best on your arms. They will also look equally good on men and women. Opting for asymmetrical or geometric tattoo styles will be a good choice for this tattoo design.
18: Lace Butterfly Tattoo
A lace butterfly tattoo will indicate orderly art and intricate passion because the lace design on the wings is perfectly symmetrical. Each wing has to be carefully patterned, and so if you opt for a large tattoo design, that will be good for this butterfly tattoo.
Always remember that a lace butterfly tattoo will be one of the best options for butterfly back tattoos. However, it will require much detailing, so the tattoo artist you choose has to be experienced enough to make this tattoo look lifelike.
19: Sketchy Butterfly Tattoo
The sketchy butterfly tattoos denote a perfect homage to the cycle of both art and life. It looks like an incomplete piece of art, which means the tattoo is in its ongoing stage of creation. It is an excellent symbol of rebirth and regeneration.
In blackwork tattoo designs, the sketchy butterfly tattoo is one of the most popular ones. You can get it inked on your calf, thigh, back, shoulder, neck, or collar bone. It will look good on both men and women.
20: Aztec Butterfly Tattoo
In Aztec culture, a butterfly symbolizes the souls of past warriors. So, if you do an Aztec butterfly tattoo, it will mean the remembrance of those who have passed their eternal souls. Furthermore, it will denote the impermanency of beauty, which is true in every sense.
The Aztec butterfly tattoo looks like a clawed butterfly, which is also the symbol of the Itzpapalotl goddess. This deity watched over women who suffered from labor pain, so this butterfly tattoo design also signifies the cycle of birth or hope after a loss.
21. Celtic Butterfly Tattoo
“The meaning of butterflies in celtic symbolism relates to the human soul. Some say that ancient Celts believed butterflies to be the souls of the departed loved ones, whether that’s literally or just symbolic.”
“One beautiful old Irish saying relating to butterflies is
“May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun
and find your shoulder too light on
to bring you luck, happiness, and riches today, tomorrow, and beyond.”
“You can create the shape of a butterfly using interlocking Celtic twists, bringing together both the butterfly tattoo meaning and a deep connection to Celtic culture, or Irish heritage.
You might like to check out the meanings of some more Celtic symbols for your Celtic tattoos.”
22. Large Butterfly Tattoo
“If you’re not afraid to go big and bold, a large butterfly tattoo is extremely striking and it gives you space to work with a lot of color and detail, like this watercolor butterfly tattoo in rainbow colors.”
“A large butterfly tattoo can create a beautiful feature piece covering your entire back, thigh, chest, or the side of your body. To make the large tattoo, you can combine multiple butterflies to cover a larger surface area and a beautiful effect.”
23. Word Butterfly Tattoo
“Combing words with your butterfly tattoo is a great way to inject even more meaning and make a beautiful reminder for yourself. Some of the most popular words to have alongside your butterfly tattoo are strong or strength, but we also love this, where the butterfly’s wings create the letter B for breathe.”
“You can also go for a longer quote like this one reading with brave wings she flies. Or, make your quote into the spine of the butterfly like this beautiful design reading todo pasa which means everything happens or everything passes, in Spanish.”
24. Broken Butterfly Tattoo
“The Broken butterfly tattoo concept relates to the fragility of beauty. Sometimes beauty can be delicate and fleeting, but this is another reminder for us to live in the moment and appreciate the beauty before it passes. In this delicate minimalist tattoo, the butterflies’ wings shatter like broken glass into falling shards.”
25. Black Butterfly Tattoo
“Whether you go for black wings, black butterflies, or just tattoo your simple butterfly line drawing in black ink, the black butterfly is a simple and elegant tattoo that can be done in a minimalist style, or a more traditional tattoo style.”
“The color black symbolises death and grief, and the black butterfly in nature is rare and elusive meaning this color of butterfly has an element of mystery. Using black ink, you can create a beautiful detailed butterfly with mandala style detailing.”
26. Butterfly And Lotus Tattoo Idea
It’s time to create some pastoral and serene charm for the lotus tattoo you want to have.
How about combining the most elegant lotus flowers with butterflies?
You can be really creative with this design and add motifs to the design according to your preferences.
Another great thing about this tattoo is that you can play with the colors.
If you want, you can get the entire tattoo designed with black ink.
Otherwise, ask your tattoo artist to give the design some artistic touches with shades like blue, purple, red, or pink.
This butterfly tattoo is suitable for all your body parts. However, it looks best when done just above your hip bone.
27. 3 Butterflies Tattoo Idea On Leg
If you don’t think that one butterfly motif is enough for your body art, you can always go for as many butterflies as you want.
I really like this idea where three butterflies are making your toned thighs look more beautiful. This is also an excellent tattoo idea for your forearm.
Simple line drawings with minimal detailing can really make this design shine through.
However, you can always get the tattoo detailed with your own ideas.
While drawing the butterfly designs, ask your tattoo artist to change the direction of the butterflies a little. Otherwise, the design may look monotonous.
For example, one butterfly may face upward, then there can be a side view, and the butterfly at the bottom may face upward.
28. Girl Butterfly Tattoo
Butterfly tattoos have an inherent feminine charm. How about boosting its charm a little with a sensuous feminine silhouette?
It looks like a mesmerizing idea. You can get the tattoo designed as a girl stretching her hands upwards and butterflies surrounding her.
The overall theme also projects a strong picture of our relationship with nature.
This tattoo is great for your back or chest. It needs a big canvas to get all the elements in the right place.
If you want to keep it minimalistic, go for a simple line drawing with black ink. I would recommend a little touch of colors, especially on the butterfly wings.
Final Thoughts
In this article, we have elaborated on several butterfly tattoo designs. We have also mentioned the kind of tattoo style that will look good on each of those designs. So, choose any of these tattoo designs, and make an extraordinary piece of art on your body now.
Butterfly tattoos symbolize personal growth and transformation. So, it’s especially great for women who want to work on themselves. Yes, the world is filled with ideas, but you can always infuse your creativity to get the best designs for you. Also, nature is the best reference book for you if you want to make the inking remarkable and a statement for you.
