Halsey tattoos: All 40+ of Halsey's tattoos and their meanings

30 August 2019, 17:28

Jazmin Duribe

By Jazmin Duribe

Find all of Halsey's tattoos and their meanings right here.

Halsey isn't just known for her hits, she's known for her extensive collection of tattoos. The singer has collected a rumoured over 35 tattoos over the years and each has a unique story behind it.

So, in the name of journalism and future tattoo inspiration, we've delved deep to try and find out about all of Halsey's ink.

READ MORE: Ariana Grande tattoos: All 40+ of Ariana's tattoos and their meanings

Halsey backstage during the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards.
Halsey backstage during the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards. Picture: Jeff Kravitz/Contributor

1) "929"


Halsey revealed her latest ink on Instagram in August 2019 and it seems like a sure hint at her third album's release date. Halsey had "929" inked on the knuckles of her right hand. It's not just any random number, though, after a bit of decoding fans worked out that the number is her birthday, which falls on 29 September. To back up the theory, Halsey captioned the Instagram reveal: "track 16," complete with a birthday cake emoji. Does that mean a 16 track album is on its way? Possibly, but either way it's a pretty cute tattoo.

Halsey&squot;s "929" Tattoo.
Halsey's "929" Tattoo. Picture: @iamhalsey via Instagram

2) "Poor Thing"


Halsey had her kneecap (ouch) tattooed by London-based tattoo artist Emily Malice in July 2019 and it's pretty unique. The design features two band-aids crossed with the words "poor thing" written through the middle in black. Halsey hasn't explained the meaning behind the design just yet but one thing we know is that it really hurt. She tweeted: "got my entire kneecap tattooed so now I’m officially not afraid of anything."

Halsey&squot;s "Poor Thing" Tattoo.
Halsey's "Poor Thing" Tattoo. Picture: @iamhalsey via Instagram

3) Nightmare


Halsey released her single 'Nightmare' in May 2019, which signified a new and darker era. The feminist anthem is about a woman who is forced into being submissive. To mark this new era, Halsey revealed a tattoo on the nape of her neck reading "Nightmare" in black ink. Although she revealed it in May, she actually got the tattoo in January 2018.

Halsey&squot;s "Nightmare" Tattoo.
Halsey's "Nightmare" Tattoo. Picture: @emilyeffler via Instagram

4) Libra scale "Sins" and "Forgiveness"


When Halsey made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live to perform with Lil Wayne in November 2018, we would have never guessed that moments before killing it on stage she was getting inked. Lil Wayne came up with the design, which is a tribute to their shared zodiac sign – Libra. The tattoo, which is on her right arm, features a scale (the Libra symbol) with "sins" and "forgiveness" in Lil Wayne's handwriting on either side, in reference to Wayne's lyrics on 'She Will' featuring Drake. The lyrics read: "On my Libra scale I’m weighin' sins and forgiveness."

Halsey&squot;s "Sins Forgiveness" Libra Tattoo.
Halsey's "Sins Forgiveness" Libra Tattoo. Picture: @halsey via Twitter

5) Butterfly


Halsey has an detailed butterfly inked on her right forearm. The black design is thought to tie in with her 2017 album hopeless fountain kingdom, while Halsey has spoken publicly about her love of the creatures – once even breaking her toe to save one.

Halsey's Butterfly Tattoo.
Halsey's Butterfly Tattoo. Picture: SOPA Images/Contributor

6) Marilyn Manson's face


Halsey decided to tattoo one of her biggest musical inspirations to her ribcage – Marilyn Manson. The tattoo, which is on her right side, shows Manson's eyes, nose and lips in black, complete with his signature dark lipstick and arched brows.

Halsey's Marilyn Manson Tattoo.
Halsey's Marilyn Manson Tattoo. Picture: @iamhalsey via Instagram

7) Queen of Diamonds


In June 2018, Halsey added her first (and last) face tattoo to her collection. The Queen of Diamonds is inked in red just in front of her left ear. Los Angeles-based tattoo artist NAL had the honour of inking Halsey and she thanked him on Instagram, writing: "Headed straight for the castle. @nal.tattoo thanks for my first (and only hopefully) face tattoo."

Halsey&squot;s "Q" Tattoo.
Halsey's "Q" Tattoo. Picture: @_n.a.l via Instagram

9) "The Crazy Kind"


Halsey had a lyric from her 2017 collaboration with her ex-boyfriend G-Eazy 'Him & I' tattooed on her wrist. In the duet, Halsey describes their love as being "the crazy kind" of love. "The Crazy Kind" tattoo was in a black, simple font on her left wrist.

Halsey&squot;s "The Crazy Kind" Tattoo.
Halsey's "The Crazy Kind" Tattoo. Picture: @jonboytattoo via Instagram

10) Barbed Wire


Halsey covered her "The Crazy Kind" tattoo following her split from her ex-boyfriend. Instead, Halsey has barbed wire which wraps around her left wrist.

Halsey's Barbed Wire Tattoo.
Halsey's Barbed Wire Tattoo. Picture: @iamhalsey via Instagram

11) "I'm a loser baby"


In January 2018, Halsey revealed that she had added another music-inspired tattoo to her already vast collection. For her new design, tattooist JonBoy created a soft and simple font tattoo on her neck in black, which reads: "I'm a loser baby." The words are actually lyrics to Beck's 1994 song 'Loser'.

Halsey&squot;s "I&squot;m a loser baby" Tattoo.
Halsey's "I'm a loser baby" Tattoo. Picture: @jonboy via Instagram

12) Playboy Jeans


Halsey celebrated posing for the front cover of Playboy's September/October 2017 Music Issue by having a permanent Playboy memory inked. Halsey's tattoo sits on the upper part of her right arm and shows the backside of a pair of Levi’s red tag jeans with the Playboy bunny logo on the pocket.

Halsey's Playboy Tattoo.
Halsey's Playboy Tattoo. Picture: SOPA Images/Contributor

13) "Brat"


Halsey has "BRAT" scribbled onto her right forearm in a graffiti-style font. The singer revealed to a fan that her parents are behind the reason she chose to get the word inked in May 2017. Apparently, Halsey's mother and father used to call her a brat when she was younger. Aww.

Halsey&squot;s "Brat" Tattoo.
Halsey's "Brat" Tattoo. Picture: Erika Goldring/Stringer

14) "Heaven in Hiding"


Halsey had the title of her song 'Heaven in Hiding' tattooed onto her right forearm in a handwritten style font at a diagonal angle. The song is from her album, hopeless fountain kingdom.

Halsey&squot;s "Heaven in Hiding" Tattoo.
Halsey's "Heaven in Hiding" Tattoo. Picture: NBC/Contributor

15) Dice


In November 2016, Halsey was a surprise guest at LANY's Minneapolis show. Of course, she delivered a killer performance and to top off the night she got matching tattoos with LANY frontman Paul Klein by Brent Bartel at Leviticus Tattoo. Halsey ended up with a pair of dice on her left forearm, while Paul got the same design just below his elbow. How Rock 'n' Roll.

Halsey's Dice Tattoo.
Halsey's Dice Tattoo. Picture: @iamhalsey via Instagram

16) "Baby"


Halsey has "Baby" tattooed just above her bikini line on her lower stomach. Whilst no-one knows the meaning behind this particular inking, it's pretty cute.

Halsey&squot;s "Baby" Tattoo.
Halsey's "Baby" Tattoo. Picture: @halsey via Twitter

17) Anchor


Halsey's first tattoo is a coloured anchor with a banner and a heart on her right foot. The banner reads: "NCF," her mother's initials. Halsey had the inking done when she was 16-year-old and her mother Nicole Frangipane has exactly the same design too. Apparently, Halsey begged her mother for the ink and she took her as a "fear tactic" which appears to have backfired.

Halsey's Anchor Tattoo.
Halsey's Anchor Tattoo. Picture: Tony Barson/Contributor

18) Dagger


Halsey has a dagger tattoo on her thigh, which she got aged 16. The dagger is in blue and red ink with the number "13" on a banner on the blade. This one has significant meaning because Halsey told  iHeartRadio that it's in the memory of a friend that passed away.

Halsey&squot;s Dagger "13" Tattoo.
Halsey's Dagger "13" Tattoo. Picture: @halsey via Twitter

19) Roses


Halsey has the outline of two roses on her right shoulder in black ink. Although she got the ink when she was just 17-years-old, it's one of her favourites and according to her tweets, she's been having a debate about whether or not to have the outline filled since 2013.

Halsey's Rose Tattoo.
Halsey's Rose Tattoo. Picture: JOHANNES EISELE/Contributor

20) "Ferox"


Halsey has "FEROX" tattooed on her thigh in capital letters with black ink. In Latin, ferox means "wild, courageous, spiritable". Halsey revealed that her friend did the tattoo for her with a sewing needle and India ink in October 2012 after "a lot of vodka".

Halsey&squot;s "FEROX" Tattoo.
Halsey's "FEROX" Tattoo. Picture: @iamhalsey via Instagram

21) "17"


Halsey had her lucky number "17" tattooed on her knuckles in March 2013 – the year she became Halsey. The tattoo is on Halsey's middle and index finger on her right hand.

Halsey&squot;s "17" Tattoo.
Halsey's "17" Tattoo. Picture: @halsey via Twitter

22) "511"


Halsey had her brother Sevian Frangipane's birthday tattooed on the back of her arm, near her elbow, in August 2013. Halsey had the "511' (11 May) tattoo to remember the special day.

Halsey&squot;s "511" Tattoo.
Halsey's "511" Tattoo. Picture: Steve Granitz/Contributor

23) Star Wars Mythosaur


Halsey has the face of the Star Wars alien species Mythosaur on her right elbow in August 2013. It’s also the emblem of the Mandalorians in the Star Wars universe. The skeleton-style design was done by artist Darci Munster and is dedicated to Halsey's love of Star Wars movies.

Halsey's Mythosaur Tattoo.
Halsey's Mythosaur Tattoo. Picture: @halsey via Twitter

24) Om


Halsey had the black outline of the Om symbol tattooed on her forearm in August 2013. The symbol and sound has roots in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, but the meaning differs depending on the religion. Generally, it's the sacred sound of universe.

Although Halsey has never said she follows a particular faith in an interview for producer Benny Blanco's YouTube channel, she claimed to believe in synchronicity, which is the belief that life events are "meaningful coincidences".

Halsey's Om Tattoo.
Halsey's Om Tattoo. Picture: @halsey via Twitter

25) "Serendipity"


You've probably already seen Halsey's Serendipity tattoo on her ribcage, which she's had since July 2014. Halsey's tattoo is in a black font and sits on her left side. It also matches her mother's, who has a Serendipity tattoo too.

Serendipity is the development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way and Halsey said it's an "important" tattoo. The tattoo is said to have two meanings, one being that she credits much of her musical success to serendipity and another because her mother considers her a "happy accident".

Halsey&squot;s "Serendipity" Tattoo.
Halsey's "Serendipity" Tattoo. Picture: Taylor Hill/Contributor

26) Music score


Halsey has sheet music tattooed on the back of her left upper arm. However, the four whole notes aren't just from any old track. They're the identifier of producer Lido and can be heard in songs that he has produced, including some of Halsey's music. HER MIND.

Halsey's Music Score Tattoo.
Halsey's Music Score Tattoo. Picture: Amy Sussman/Staff

27) "Everything"


Halsey has a minimalist portrait tattoo on her left upper arm with the word "EVERYTHING" written below it. Halsey got the ink in November 2015 and it was is inspired by Norwegian singer Lido’s album Everything (2016).

Halsey&squot;s "Everything" Tattoo.
Halsey's "Everything" Tattoo. Picture: Jackson Lee/Contributor

28) "XXX"


Halsey had a simple "XXX" tattooed on her right hand in July 2014, right near her thumb. The cute tattoo actually has two meanings behind it. "My grandma used to do x’s for my brothers and I, so it’s me and my two brothers," she told  iHeartRadio. "But it kind of turned into a different meaning, because it almost means like a parental advisory."

Halsey&squot;s "XXX" Tattoo.
Halsey's "XXX" Tattoo. Picture: @iamhalsey via Instagram

29) "These violent delights have violent ends"


In July 2014, Halsey had the line: "These violent delights have violent ends," tattooed on her forearm. The line is from Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet and as a lover of literature, Halsey told iHeartRadio that she believed that the ink would be a reminder to not do anything violently because it would end poorly.

Halsey&squot;s "These violent delights have violent ends" Tattoo.
Halsey's "These violent delights have violent ends" Tattoo. Picture: Jackson Lee/Contributor

30) Upside-down horseshoe


Halsey rebelled against traditional horseshoe tattoos and had it tattooed on her upside, which apparently symbolises luck spilling away. The singer got the design in September 2014 and it features two flowers on either side. Halsey used tattooist Joshua Marks for this piece, who is known for doing upside-down horse shoes.

Halsey Horseshoe Tattoo.
Halsey Horseshoe Tattoo. Picture: Emma McIntyre/Staff

31) Little Prince' elements (cactus, volcano, fox, rose)


A literature lover, Halsey had clearly been inspired by The Little Prince (1943) as she used symbols from the book for her next tattoo. Halsey’s thigh tattoo consists of four elements in black ink – a cactus, volcano, fox and a rose.

Halsey Little Prince Tattoo.
Halsey Little Prince Tattoo. Picture: @iamhalsey via Instagram

32) Two lovers kissing


Halsey's second minimalist design is of two people locked in a kiss. Halsey hasn't revealed who the kissing people are, or the meaning behind it, but the edgy design is the work of artist Curt Montgomery, who gave her the tattoo in August 2014.

Halsey Two Lovers Kissing Tattoo.
Halsey Two Lovers Kissing Tattoo. Picture: @iamhalsey via Instagram

33) "Hopeless"


Halsey has "HOPELESS" written in capital letters on her left side of her back, right on her butt cheek. The tattoo is by the same artist who did the kissing lovers on her thigh and she had them done at the same time. "HOPELESS" is a nod to her second album, hopeless fountain kingdom.

Halsey "Hopeless" Tattoo.
Halsey "Hopeless" Tattoo. Picture: @iamhalsey via Instagram

35) Mars


Halsey and her friend Sean got matching Venus and Mars tattoos on their elbows in July 2015. She explained the meaning behind the tattoo when answering a fan question on social media. She said: "My friend Sean is an Aries so his ruling planet is Mars and mine is Venus and his birthday falls EXACTLY on my half birthday so we got each other's ruling planets!"

Halsey's Mars tattoo.
Halsey's Mars tattoo. Picture: Taylor Hill/Contributor

36) Matchstick


In May 2015, Halsey selected three lucky fans from Twitter to randomly get matching tattoos with her during a meeting session. The foursome had tattoos of an unlit matchstick (because they're all "matching") to symbolise potential inked on their forearms and when they believe they had reached their potential, Halsey said they would all have flames tattooed above it. The whole process was documented on YouTube.

In 2022, Halsey officially added a flame to her match tattoo. Fans believe they added the lit flame now that they're a mother to son Ender and have achieved their dream (or full potential) of having a family.

Halsey matchstick tattoo.
Halsey matchstick tattoo. Picture: Halsey via YouTube.

37) Knife with a belt


In September 2014, Halsey had tattooist Emily Malice ink a knife with the belt around it on her right ankle. She hasn't revealed the meaning behind this intricate design but the handle of the knife features a flower design on the handle.

Halsey's Knife Tattoo.
Halsey's Knife Tattoo. Picture: @iamhalsey via Instagram

38) Nike Air Jordan


Some of us love our trainers, but obviously not quite as much as Halsey. The singer had Nike's Air Jordan sneakers tattooed in black and red ink in August 2018 – just above her music score tattoo on her arm. Halsey’s tattoo was done by Toronto-based artist Curt Montgomery, who also did her kissing lovers tattoo in 2014.

Halsey's Air Jordan Tattoo.
Halsey's Air Jordan Tattoo. Picture: @iamhalsey via Instagram

39) Sparkles

After shaving her head, Halsey has added a skull tattoo to her collection. The singer now has two sparkle symbols on her scalp just above her right ear. It seems she had been planning it all along too, as she captioned her Instagram post: "finally did it." The tattoo is the work of Los Angeles-based artist n.a.l, who also did her Queen of Hearts face tattoo.

Halsey Sparkle Tattoo
Halsey Sparkle Tattoo. Picture: @iamhalsey via Instagram

40) Bjenny Montero illustration

As well as a new tattoo on her head, Halsey added some more ink to her right forearm – just above her "BRAT" tattoo. Halsey now has a tattoo of one of comic illustrator Bjenny Montero's famous characters. The bird-like character is stood alongside a speech bubble, which says: "I wonder if they'll remember me."

Halsey Bjenny Montero Illustration Tattoo
Halsey Bjenny Montero Illustration Tattoo. Picture: @iamhalsey via Instagram

41) "Seeds"

Halsey has the word "seeds" tattooed on her left foot and the meaning behind it is too cute. The tattoo matches her boyfriend Alev Aydin's ink and it was done by tattoo artist Amanda Owley in June 2020.

But what exactly does "seeds" mean, you ask? "[Halsey] said that everything with how the planets were aligned and where the cosmos were at that moment indicated that it was the best time to plant seeds into the ground of life," Amanda told People. "They wanted to get the words on their feet because it was closest to the earth." The tattoo was also done in each other's handwriting.

ICYMI, Halsey is currently expecting her first child with Alev. The couple are said to have been dating since at least summer 2020.

Halsey&squot;s "seeds" tattoo
Halsey's "seeds" tattoo. Picture: @amanda_owley_tattoo via Instagram

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