Heart tattoos, just like star tattoos, have always been popular, and we usually associate them with the old school Sailor Jerry flash type of tattooing. The heart symbol can have a lot of meanings, the most obvious one being Love...
Here’s the typical scenario:
A couple, wanting to express undying love for one another, get matching heart tattoos with each other’s names written across the heart image, perhaps on a sort of banner. Flames or roses may be used to further embellish the heart tattoo image.
A few years later, when the couple go their separate ways, each is left with an indelible reminder – and a dilemma regarding what to do with it. Some people opt to get their heart tattoo designs filled in, to obscure the name – others opt for tattoo removal.
Still others decide that it’s part of their history, they’ll just have to live with. In any case, heart tattoos and love tattoos have been the cause of embarrassment and regret ;-)
The combination of heart tattoos and names started in the beginning of the 20th century when sailors wore red heart tattoos with the word Mom in the center. Later, during World War II, soldiers wore heart tattoos with the name of their girlfriend or wife. In both cases they acted as a kind of lucky charm.
