Demi Lovato Tattoos: Guide to Ink Designs and Their Meanings

When it comes to tattoos, Demi Lovato is covered! Throughout their time in the spotlight, the singer has racked up over 20 ink designs.

They got their first tattoo when they were 16 years old, and since then, slowly accumulated them all over her body. While chatting with iHeartRadio in 2014, Demi admitted that they had lost count of the amount of tattoos they had racked up over the years.

“Do you count the ‘Stay’ and ‘Strong’? Do you count the individual birds?” she questioned, noting that there are “a lot” of tats. “It could be 10. It could be 26! I have a very, very high pain tolerance.”

When it comes to the meanings behind some of Demi’s tattoos, the “Tell Me You Love Me” musician has shared that some are dedicated to their past struggles. In fact, tattoo artist Daniel Winter spoke with Inked magazine in January 2019 about Demi’s rose tattoo, which is located on their finger.

“Demi contacted me through Instagram. We talked about what [they] wanted and went from there,” he explained at the time. “Demi talked to me for a little about what [they] wanted. A rose came to [their] mind, and asked me to draw [them] a unique fine-line tattoo. So, the single-stemmed rose was it!”

Aside from the ink designs paying tribute to themself, Demi also has a few dedicated to friends and family members who have died. Even their late dog, Buddy, has his own tribute on their foot.

“I will love you forever and never forget you,” the Disney Channel alum shared via Instagram when showing off that particular ink design. Since then, Demi has stayed mum about the various meanings behind her newer tattoos, but they’ve still shared images of each one.

In 2020, they showed off a giant butterfly on their neck. More than a year later, in August 2021 — just after their 28th birthday celebration — they added a tattoo on their right hand. “Love Will Live Forever in the Infinite Universe,” the ink reads. According to E! News, this is a song lyric from the band Infinite Universe’s track “Beautiful Chorus.”

We went ahead and made you a complete guide to all of Demi’s tattoos and their meanings, so get ready to learn a lot about the former Camp Rock star. Scroll through our gallery to check out all of Demi’s ink designs and find out what each of them symbolizes.

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Spider on Their Head

“It was Grandmother Spider who taught us many things,” they wrote via Instagram Stories in January 2022. “She taught us about pottery and weaving. She taught us about fire and light and dark. She taught us that we are all connected on the web — each one of us having our own place in this world.”

Feather Behind Their Ear

Demi’s second tattoo was added in June 2010. She got a feather inked behind their ear, and they later revealed that it had absolutely no personal meaning behind it.

“It honestly doesn’t mean anything,” they told Hollywood Life. “I just think it’s cute. It’s a light blue feather, but it looks more like a leaf, so I gotta fix it.”

Roman Numeral on Their Wrist

The singer got the Roman numeral three inked onto their wrist after their biological father passed away.

“It’s the Roman numeral three. It means a lot to me because my dad, it was his like number,” they told Craig Ferguson back in 2013. “He passed this summer and I wanted to do something positive.”

‘Stay Strong’ and Roses on Their Wrist

Demi added the words “Stay Strong” permanently to their wrists in March 2011, shortly after they spent three months in rehab.

“The message is for me. It says ‘Stay Strong.’ So every day no matter if I’m putting on my shoes or putting on my makeup, I see it every day, to stay strong,” they told Ryan Seacrest. “It was very symbolic for me to be able to be able to cover that up and also replace it with something else that’s permanent so that I’ll never be able to forget the support that I had when I went in [to treatment].”

Demi added a rose tattoo in April 2015.

Their Grandmother on Their Arm

“This is for you Mimaw. You at 26 [years old] on my arm while I’m 26 [years old], and forever. I love you,” they wrote on Instagram at the time. “Thank you @_dr_woo_ for making her come back to life for me … It’s stunning and the most meaningful tattoo I have ever gotten.”

‘Warrior’ Lyrics on Their Shoulder

“I have a song on my album called ‘Warrior’ and it’s a very, very meaningful song to me,” they told Jimmy Fallon. “It’s really heavy, the lyrics, but it’s an inspirational song as well. It’s a negative thing turned positive. I’ve been through a lot and I’m really really honest on this album. And this is a song that was really difficult for me to write, record, and now release. [The tattoo] was kind of like a tribute to releasing the album as well as overcoming some really really difficult things in my life.”

‘Faith’ and Africa Map

Demi got her “Faith” tattoo in December 2011, and later added a flock of flying birds around the word in November 2012. “I love the freedom that birds represent,” they told iHeartRadio. “I wanted more tattoos and I’d never done anything big, and it was very impulsive of me.”

They also have a small outline of Africa on their inner arm. “I went [to Africa] for my 21st birthday. I went to Kenya and it was just a very, very inspirational journey that I feel like really had a huge impact on my life,” they explained to the outlet. “And, I would’ve gotten Kenya but then people would have been like, ‘What’s that?’ So Africa’s a little more distinct.”