In the interests of research and as an ongoing barometer of popular culture we have decided to provide you with a weekly update of the Top Ten Weekly Tattoo Designs Search.

You can access the archived weekly lists on this page.

The Top 10 Tattoo Designs and Symbols, based on site searches ending 5/8/06.

This week is an interesting glimpse into the popular culture influence that celebrities have. Nick Lachey, former Boy Band heart-throb, star of reality television and erstwhile husband of blonde bombshell Jessica Simpson has just appeared on this week's cover of US Magazine. Nick doffed his shirt for the photo shoot and proudly displays his tattoos. Nick has a tribal sun and a tribal armband. The result on tattoo design searches was immediate. Tribal tattoos had even more searches than usual, Sun tattoo designs reappeared in the Top Ten, and "Nick Lachey's tattoos" outranked even Angelina Jolie! If we had combined sun tattoo designs with "Nick Lachey tattoos", the result would have been a number two ranking just below tribal tattoos. There's no such thing as bad publicity Nick, maybe we should start on that tribal back-piece, maybe a little Henry Rollins homage. Now about your career...

1. Tribal Tattoos - I had an interview on April 18th with the Science Reporter for a San Diego newspaper. I gathered that the thrust of his article was that tribal tattoos in the West did not have the significance of traditional tribal tattoos among indigenous people. Huh? Folks, we have an announcement to make. The sky is blue and grass is green! Are you kidding me. When all else fails, state the obvious.

The journalist seemed like a nice guy and I tried to give him a brief recap of the roots of the interest in tribal tattooing in the West, and given the kind of questions I was getting, a brief history of the last two hundred years of tattooing as well. Having run the Boston Marathon (3:30:38) the day before, gotten just five hours of sleep before hitting Logan Airport at 4:00 AM to catch my 6:00 AM flight back to Vancouver, I may not have been in the best shape of my life to give a cogent interview, or have been predisposed to be patient.

The reporter was curious to know if I felt Western tribal tattoos were "disrespectful". I replied that as long as there wasn't any intent at cultural misappropriation, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And it may foster a deeper interest and curiosity in another culture. I said that I hoped the West's interest in the tattoos of other cultures was a sign of interest in global cultural diversity.

When the reporter asked why traditional tribal tattooing was on the wane all over the world, I couldn't contain myself. "You're not serious?", I asked. Unfortunately, he was. So I then launched into a bit of a diatribe about globalization, development in the third world, religious conversion and the impact of white Europeans on aboriginal peoples all over the globe.

When asked to predict the future of traditional tattooing around the world I said that while I was hopeful, and that in many areas there were signs of tattooing revivals, for the most part, traditional tattooing, in the original cultural context and with the original cultural ceremonies, using traditional tattooing implements will probably be largely lost with one or two generations. I said that I thought that the sweep of globalization and the homogenization of many cultures was probably an irreversible - however, regrettable trend. Hey, sometimes you have to be a pragmatist.

Unfortunately, exhausted at this point, I made a flip comment, "Look, every time a European colonialist made contact with an indigenous culture, when didn't we fuck it up?" This caused the reporter to laugh nervously. And then I delivered the coup de grace. "Besides none of this is going to matter in two or three hundred years anyway.", I added. The reporter couldn't resist rising to the bait, "Why's that?"

"Look at the planet. There a billion and a half Chinese, a billion and a half Indians, nearly a billion more Southeast Asians, it's pretty simple math".

"What?"

"Globalization is a two way street. If the world is really a global village, in two or three hundred years most of us are going to be yellow or coffee coloured."

(Just for the record, I happen to think we're African anyway - some of just wandered a little far North...)

The reporter was now laughing nervously and the interview ended right about there.

I went to bed and slept for twelve hours.

Moral of this story - get your tribal tattoos while you can.

2. Dragons - Up from tenth spot last week to number two this week. One of the favorite classics is back in the Top Ten. a dragon is a classic tattoo design that shows the influence of Japanese & Chinese culture in western tattooing. This design is popular with both men and women. A dragon is wondrous monster, often thought of as a giant winged, fire breathing lizard or snake. The word is derived from the French and Latin form of the Greek, drakwu, connected with derkomai "see," & interpreted as "sharp-sighted." The equivalent English
word "drake" or "fire-drake" is derived from Anglo-Saxon draca.

3. Angel/Angels - Dropped down to third spot. An angel tattoo design is an overtly religious symbol. Angels are anthropomorphic - meaning in the shape of men - winged forms intended to transmit the word of God to humankind. Angels personify divine will and are the messengers of God. Winged messengers appear in a number of religions as intermediaries between the spiritual and material worlds, but appear most often in Islamic, Jewish but most particularly the Christian faiths. The word angel comes from the Greek 'aggelos', meaning messenger. Angels make frequent appearances in the Christian Bible, not only as messengers of God but also delivering his protection or punishment. Angels act as God's intermediaries, carrying out God's will in the affairs of man.

Symbols closely associated with angels in art include trumpets, harps, swords, sceptres and wands. Angels are usually portrayed as young men with wings and halos, representing their divinity. The representation of angels as Cupid-like young boys or babies, 'putti' did not occur until the period of the Renaissance.

As a tattoo design, an angel is a symbol of devotion, spirituality and faith and signifies a relationship with God. An angel can be intended as a figure of guidance and protection. An angel is often used as the centerpiece of a tattoo that is intended as a memorial.

4. Star/Stars - Only down one spot from last week. Stars are often encountered as symbols, and many cases the meaning of a particular star symbol may depend upon the number points it has, and sometimes the orientation of these points as well. As a light shining in the darkness, the star is often considered a symbol of truth, of the spirit and of hope. The symbol of the star embodies the concept of the divine spark within each of us. Their nocturnal nature leads stars to represent the struggle against the forces of darkness and the unknown. See the Nautical Star, a star with its own special meaning.

5. Cross/crosses - In the same spot as last week. For many people, the idea of a tattoo of a cross may well serve to smooth over any negative feedback they are receiving about getting body art. If you're a nice Christian boy or a girl, and you want a tattoo but don't want to be excommunicated by the local Baptists or tossed out the house by Mom and Dad and make Grandma wail, a cross tattoo seems like a positive compromise.

It testifies to personal faith, shows commitment and is a tough symbol to argue against. The cross may well be an artfully cunning manoeuvre for the Christian who wants to sport ink and cut off the body art opposition before they get to the pass! And for the members of the family who bring up the Bible as opposing tattoos, this will surely spark a lively, fun-filled family discussion about the scriptures - Leviticus And that can never be a bad thing.

5. Maori - Tribal Tattoos account for nearly a third of all tattoo design search requests, and the term "tribal" of course covers an astonishing array of tattoo design possibilities, from the traditional tribal tattoos of indigenous and aboriginal cultures, to the latest in graphic design for the body. Interest in "Haida" and "Maori" tattoo designs have been very prominent in recent weeks.

Maori tattooing is a distinct school of patterns and graphic designs within Polynesian tattooing. While much of Polynesian tattooing is derived from straight-line geometric patterns (and thought to originate with patterns found on ancient Lapita pottery shards such as have been discovered in Samoa), a design fact which rose in part because the traditional Polynesian tattoo combs are best suited to linear designs, Maori tattooing is essentially curvilinear, and the mainstay of Maori designs are based on the spiral. It should be noted that renowned traditional Hawaiian artist Keone Nunes has demonstrated that it is possible to reproduce complex curved designs using traditional Polynesian tattooing implements.

There are some wonderful web sites that tell the history of Maori tattooing and are well-worth exploring. Who knew tattoos could be so educational!?!

6. Nick Lachey's tattoo - the tribal sun is a genre or style of tattoo design. The Sun as a tattoo design is a reflection of the Sun's profound symbolic nature in most cultures around the world. The sun was worshipped as a personified, life-giving deity in Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and almost every other major civilizations of history. The Sun or Sun figure was almost always the predominant figure within the pantheon of those spiritual belief systems.

Nearly every culture has a creation myth that explains how the sun came into being, and often times an accompanying apocalypse myth that details the end of the world, as we know it, when the sun is destroyed or devoured in some manner. Many cultures have myths that explain the rising and the setting of the sun, and this repeating cycle of light and dark has come to symbolize life and death, regeneration and reincarnation.

6. Sun - The most common symbol of the sun is a circle with the sun's rays emanating from the perimeter. A dot or point in the center of a circle symbolizes the blending of male and female forces. The sun is usually seen as a masculine symbol and the moon and the earth as feminine symbols, hence you will often the Sun symbolically paired with the Moon or the Earth. For many millennia the Sun was believed to be at the center of the Universe, around which all other heavenly bodies radiated. The Sun was a symbol of both royal and divine powers, adopted by both secular and religious authorities.

As a tattoo design and symbol, a Sun represents fertility, vitality, passion, courage and eternally renewed youth, light and knowledge. When looking at some of the popular tattoo designs, note the following, in various cultures in the history of man, the Sun was represented by the following; an Eagle, an Eagle with a Serpent, a Winged Serpent (Dragon), a Falcon (Egyptian God Horus), Phoenix, Swan, Lion, Ram, Cock or Bull. The Sun could be further represented by the Heart symbol, A Rosette or Rose, the Lotus, the Sunflower and the Chrysanthemum. An examination of the most popular tattoo designs will show an amazing correlation with the above mentioned symbols.

7. Wrist tattoo - the dreaded search for the body part tattoos. I becoming resigned to this. Huge number of young female celebrities have tattoos on the insides of their wrists. And "body part" tattoo design searches are increasingly popular.

8. Taurus - Still in the Top Ten, down three spots from last week. The Zodiac sign of the Bull. The Bull is a symbol of power, strength, resurrection, masculinity, fertility, impulsiveness, fathers, kingship, and the Zodiac sign and constellation Taurus. The widespread presence of the Bull in many different and widespread cultural mythologies and early religions can be explained by the fact that cattle were among the first animals domesticated by man.

The Bull straddles two opposites in the world of mythology and symbolism, in that it is both a solar and a lunar creature. The Bull's male fertility, fiery temperament, and role as father of the herd make him the masculine sun-god in many cults. Just as the lion is the king and terror of the beasts of the forest, the bull is the king of the farm and the personification of brute strength and power. The lion, the bull, and the sun are popular symbols of life and resurrection. The bull's crescent shaped horns link him to moon worship and symbolism although in some areas the sun is a bull while the moon is a cow.

Its association with the sun makes the Bull a symbol of the heavens, resurrection, and fire, while its association with the moon makes the Bull a symbol of earth, water, night, and death. This animal's masculinity is not diminished by its feminine lunar connections.

9. Flowers - Spring is in the air, and while young men's hearts turn to thoughts of love, it looks as if the ladies are thinking of getting a floral tattoo.
Flowers as tattoo designs and symbols can be far more than just pretty pictures on pretty girls. Flowers are the embodiment of nature and concise symbols of the cycle of birth, life, procreation, death and rebirth. Specific flowers have come to represent a myriad of different beliefs in different cultures. In the East, the lotus flower has tremendous spiritual significance, as does the rose in the West. Similarly, the tremendous spectrum of colours present in flowers can have symbolic importance; white for purity, red for passion, or to represent the blood of Christ are but a few examples.

The shape of the flower, it's receptive cup-like form and it's passive role in fertilization, has been long been seen as a symbol of the feminine.

10. King's Crown - I can't prove this, but this week's reappearance of the King's Crown in the Top ten may have something to do with Kobe Bryant. Kobe is in the midst of a heated play-off series with the Phoenix Suns and has been getting lots of air time as the Lakers threaten to pull off an upset.

Check out this picture of Bryant.

For great tattoo design ideas, check out our good friends at TattooJohnny.com

Alphabetical Listing of Tattoo Symbols & Designs
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