Name tattoo generator
Type a name to see tattoos with the name in twelve lettering styles at the letter height you plan to get, with a check on whether it still reads.
Ava
Ava
Ava
Ava
Ava
Ava
Ava
Ava
Ava
Ava
Ava
Ava
Type the name exactly as it should be spelled, accents included. Sizes are roughly life size on a standard screen.
Names are the most personal tattoo and the most commonly covered one, depending entirely on whose name it is. A child, a parent, a grandparent, a person who has died: those rarely come back off. A partner's name is the piece cover up artists and removal studios say they work on most, and that is worth knowing before you book.
The preview is free, runs in your browser and needs no account. It shows the name in the lettering families artists actually use, at the height you set, so you can see which version still reads as a name at 3 cm and which one turns into a shape.
Whose name people keep, and whose they cover
The pattern is consistent enough that most artists will say it out loud if you ask. Names you were given, or that you gave, tend to stay. Names chosen inside a relationship tend to leave, and they leave expensively, because lettering on thin skin needs a bigger and darker design to bury it.
| Name | How it usually goes | If you want it anyway |
|---|---|---|
| A child | Rarely regretted, and often added to later | Leave space underneath for a second name |
| A parent or grandparent | Rarely regretted, especially in their own hand | Scan a real note instead of setting a font |
| Someone who has died | Rarely regretted | Keep it short and add a date instead of more words |
| A partner or spouse | The piece cover up artists work on most | Initials, a date, a shared symbol or matching pieces |
| A friend | Usually holds up at a small size | Matching designs age better than each other's names |
| Your own name | Common and uncontroversial | Initials or a monogram read better than the full name |
Name tattoo ideas that survive a change of mind
If you want a partner in the tattoo, four versions hold up: initials, the date you met, a symbol you both chose, and two matching pieces that mean nothing on their own. None of them need removing if the relationship ends, and all four still look deliberate years later. The matching tattoo pages below go through how to split one idea across two bodies.
The other way to make a name worth more than its letters is to attach it to something that belongs to that person. Their birth flower for the month they were born. Their handwriting instead of a font. A date in roman numerals underneath. The name built into the stem of a plant so it reads second.
Spelling, letter height and layout
Read the name backwards, letter by letter, off the stencil and not off your phone, then have somebody else read it out loud. Double letters are where mistakes hide, so Aaliyah, Emmett and Siobhan want a slower look than a short name does. Accents are the other common loss, because a font without the glyph drops the mark silently somewhere between your screen and the stencil printer. Check the applied stencil for every accent, apostrophe and hyphen.
Letter height decides whether the name survives and width decides where it fits. Simple block or typewriter capitals hold down to about 5 mm tall. Script with thin connecting strokes wants 8 mm or more, since those hairlines are already at the limit of what a needle lays cleanly. A seven letter name in script at 1 cm tall is roughly 7 to 9 cm wide, which fits an inner forearm easily and a wrist barely.
Four layouts that work
- One line along the limb, which suits a forearm, a collarbone or the inside of the bicep.
- Stacked lines for a long name or two names, with dates underneath if you want them.
- An arc following the collarbone or sitting under the chest, drawn by hand so the spacing stays even on the curve.
- Initials or a monogram at 2 to 3 cm, the smallest version that still ages well.
What a name over an old name costs
Cover ups run two to four times the price of the original and take more sessions, because the new design has to be bigger, darker and shaped around whatever is already there. Thin script hides under a flower or an ornamental panel without much trouble. Thick blackletter is the hard case, and sometimes the honest answer is laser work first.
Fading before a cover up is slow: six to ten sessions spaced six to eight weeks apart, usually $75 to $400 a session depending on size and where you live, and about a year of your time. The cover up guide below goes through what can realistically be hidden.
Placement changes the maintenance too. A name on the inner forearm, the inner bicep or the ribs holds its lines for decades. A name on a finger or the top of a foot fades fast and wants touching up every year or two. Once the lettering is settled, describe the design around it in the generator, keep the name as its own layer for the artist, and bring both to the consultation.
Questions people ask
Is it a bad idea to get a partner's name tattooed?
It is the most commonly covered up tattoo, which is why artists raise it before they start. If you want it anyway, they will point you to the quieter versions: initials, the date you met, a symbol you both picked, or matching pieces. All of those stay wearable if things change, and none of them need a cover up.
What name tattoo ideas work better than plain lettering?
Pair the name with something that belongs to the person. A birth flower for their month, their own handwriting instead of a font, a date in roman numerals underneath, or the name built into the stem of a plant. The name still reads, and the piece looks designed instead of labelled.
How small can name tattoos be?
About 5 mm letter height for block capitals and 8 mm for script, which puts a five letter name at roughly 3 to 5 cm wide. Smaller than that and the gaps inside the letters close up as the ink spreads, so by year five the name reads as a dark mark.
What are the best tattoo name designs for a long name?
Stack it or shorten it. A ten letter name in one line at a readable height needs 10 to 14 cm, which rules out a wrist and suits a forearm, a ribcage or a collarbone. Two short lines on a small panel look better than one line squeezed into 6 cm.
Is an initial tattoo a better choice than a full name?
It is smaller, cheaper and easier to live with. An initial tattoo at 2 to 3 cm takes about fifteen minutes and costs the shop minimum of $80 to $150. One letter also has nowhere to hide a spelling mistake, so check it twice anyway.