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Matching Tattoos for Friends, Sisters and Family: 30 Ideas
Matching tattoos aren't just for couples. Best friends, sisters, brothers, mums and daughters, and whole families get them too. Usually the friendship or family bond outlasts any relationship, so they're one of the safer reasons to get matching ink.
Best friend tattoos
1. The in-joke
The best friendship tattoos make no sense to anyone else: a word, a food, a drawing from a group chat. If it makes you both laugh now, it'll still make you laugh later.
2. Pinky promise
Two little fingers hooked together, either as one design split across both of you or the full image on each.
3. Where you met
A school crest, a tiny map outline, a postcode or the coordinates of the pub. It's subtle, and it means something.
4. Matching stars or planets
Each of you picks your own planet or star sign, in the same style.
5. A souvenir from a trip
Get tattooed together on a trip, choosing something from the place you visited: a wave from a beach holiday or a skyline from a city break.
6. Half each
"Partners" and "in crime", "salt" and "pepper", or a sun and a moon. It's cheesy, but plenty of people love it.
Sister tattoos
7. Three dots or three hearts
One for each sister, with one filled in to show "this is me". It scales up for any number of siblings.
8. Birth flowers
Each sister gets a bouquet of all your birth flowers, or just your own flower in a matching style.
9. Your mum's handwriting
A word from a card or letter she wrote, the same on each of you. It's especially meaningful if she's no longer here (see memorial tattoos).
10. Matching tiny symbols
A heart, a star or a wave, each with your own initial worked in.
11. Sister birds
A swallow each, or one bird for every sister flying in formation.
Brother tattoos
12. Your family name
Your surname in a bold traditional banner or a clean blackletter font. It's one name you'll all keep for life.
13. Your dad's or grandad's thing
His old army badge, his football club or the tool he was always holding. These work well as matching brother tattoos.
14. An anchor
It stands for steadiness and staying grounded, and it's a classic sailor symbol that looks right in traditional style.
15. Numbers
Your birth order in Roman numerals (I, II, III), or the year your family started.
Bonus: father and son tattoos
A fist bump split across two arms is a favourite. Dad gets one fist and his son gets the other, so the picture only meets when they stand together.
Mum and daughter, mum and son
16. Mother and child heart
A big heart and a little heart, connected or overlapping.
17. Each other's birth flower
Mum gets her child's flower and the child gets mum's. Read more on our tattoos for mum page.
18. A phrase she always says
"Love you more", "Text me when you're home", or whatever she always said, in her handwriting.
19. Matching tiny swallow
A swallow means coming home, which makes it a lovely choice for a child who has moved away.
Family tattoos
20. A family tree in a single line
One continuous line that forms one figure per family member. Your artist can draw it, so you don't need to find one online.
21. One symbol, everyone gets it
Choose something small and simple, so it suits everyone from your youngest adult to grandma.
22. The family home
A tiny outline of the house you grew up in, drawn from a photo.
23. Coordinates of home
Coordinates are quiet and personal, and they look the same on any skin.
24. A family flower bouquet
Combine everyone's birth flowers into one bouquet, and give each person the same design.
25. A heartbeat with a family date
A heartbeat line with the date your family began, such as a wedding or the first child's birthday.
A few more ideas for any group
26. A tiny wave
For families or friends who love the sea or come from the coast.
27. Mountains
For the friends who climbed one together, or always said they would.
28. Matching flash from the studio wall
Turn up together and pick one design from the studio's flash sheets. It's quick, cheaper than a custom design, and a story in itself.
29. A semicolon
It's widely recognised as a mental health support symbol, meaning "my story isn't over". A powerful one for a friendship that got someone through a hard time.
30. The same word in each of your handwriting
Everyone writes the same word, and each of you gets someone else's version.
How to book a group tattoo session
- Ring the studio first. Two or three small matching tattoos can often be done back-to-back in one session. Bigger groups usually need booking across a day.
- Everyone needs photo ID. In the UK it's illegal to tattoo anyone under 18, even with a parent's permission. If someone in the group is 17, wait.
- Studios usually charge a minimum per person, so five tiny hearts cost more than one tiny heart. See typical prices in our UK tattoo cost guide.
- Agree the design before the day. Group indecision in the studio eats your appointment time.
- Same artist, same style. If you want the tattoos truly matching, have the same artist do all of them.
