Harry Styles wears his tattoos well. Over the course of his career, Directioners and Stylers have watched the singer's arms go from a blank canvas to a place where art lives and thrives. Because of his ever-growing list of tats, fans are often left wondering: How many tattoos does Harry Styles have? While there is no way to nail down the exact number, after a thorough investigation, it appears Styles has at least 56.
Styles' tattoos have taken his look from a once-baby-faced boybander to an edgy, inked-up rock star in the span of six years. Most of the time, many of the tattoos Styles has — like those on his upper thighs and lower stomach — are covered up and not talked about. But, that doesn't stop Styles' stans from noticing even the tiniest pieces of artwork that pop up all over his body. From tributes to his family members to tattoos done after losing a bet, Styles isn't shy when it comes to expressing himself through permanent art on his body.
After years of wondering how many tattoos Styles has and what the meaning behind them are, we've compiled a comprehensive guide to some of his most talked about and pictured ink.
Styles has two birds facing each other inked on his upper chest. While he admitted to Us Weekly in November 2012 that the tattoos "hurt," he had a good reason behind getting them. "I like that kind of style of tattoos, like the old sailor kind of tattoos. They symbolize traveling, and we travel a lot," he explained.
Styles got this particular piece of art because of a bet. He told NPR in March 2020: “We said, ‘If they win the game, then I’ll get a Packers tattoo. And if they don’t, I won’t.’ So, I think this was maybe 2012, maybe 2013, and I only had time the day before to go and get the tattoo. So I thought, ‘Oh, I’ll just get it because they’re going to win.’ So I got the tattoo, and then they lost. So yeah, now I have a Green Bay Packers tattoo.”
Styles' Packers tattoo wasn't the only ink he got because of peer pressure. During a game of Tattoo Roulette with his One Direction bandmates and James Corden in December 2015, Styles lost the game and got inked right there on air.
Styles hasn't spoken out about the cross he has on his hand, but it's safe to say the tattoo has a deep meaning to him.
This tattoo basically speaks for itself. Surrounded by a bottle of alcohol, Styles' tattoo reads: "If you booze, you lose."
Styles' Silver Spoon tattoo seems to reflect his success with One Direction. At the height of 1D's fame in August 2014, Styles debuted the ink on the back of his arm. The phrase is known to symbolize wealth.
Styles sports the phrase on his inner arm. On his other arm, Styles has a matching "Things I Can't" tattoo.
Styles has his sister's name tattooed in Hebrew on the top of his arm near his shoulder.
Styles revealed in December 2015 that he got the word "big" written on his big toe. Why? Just because. You can watch him talk about the hilarious tat at the 1:35 mark in the video above.
Styles showed off the animal tattoo on his bare stomach on Instagram in March 2013. At the time, the butterfly tattoo was Styles' most extreme ink yet, so naturally, fans went wild over it.
Like his heart tattoo, Styles gave a subtle shoutout to his spirituality with a holy bible tattoo.
Styles has the name of his Godson tattooed above a rose on right above his elbow.
It wouldn't be a stretch if Styles got this tattoo simply because of his love of music. After Styles began his solo career in 2017, he started playing the guitar on stage as part of his performances, which was a big difference from his time in One Direction.
Styles' arm is covered with different pictures, but one of the boldest tattoos he has is a giant black heart.
For months, Styles teased a large tattoo on his leg, but no one could pinpoint exactly what it was. That is, until he addressed it during a BBC Radio 1 interview in November 2015. “Tiger! Roaaaar!" he hilariously replied when asked about the ink.
Styles sports a tat that says "17 Black" right underneath his shoulder blade, but it's unclear what, exactly, the tat means.
According to a Twitter user, Styles and his sister Gemma share matching palm tree tattoos on the back of their forearms.
The handshake is a symbol of connection, which could be a subtle nod to his connection to his fans.
