Just about every swallow tattoo that you see comes with at least one swallow tattoo meaning, so it’s not just a simple drawing of a bird as many people assume. What’s great is that you can choose one or more meanings that you like, and you will also have a nice bird tattoo design that you can place pretty much anywhere on your body. On this page we will go over all of the most commonly used swallow tattoo meanings and we’ll take a look at some design options that you’ll have.

The swallow tattoo was initially used as a symbol by sailors to display their sailing experience. In the early days of sailing, it was usually an image of a barn swallow tattooed on one’s chest, neck or hands. These days you can get your swallow tattoo anywhere you want to and can still represent your love of sailing or the fact that you are an experienced sailor.

According to legend, one swallow meant the sailor had traveled over 5,000 nautical miles and two swallows meant a distance over 10,000 nautical miles. If you are going all-out with the sailor meaning, then you can have them lined up on your arm, or you could even go with one swallow on each side of your chest. If you are getting them to represent the distance you’ve traveled on the sea, then you can even include some text to show exactly what the swallow tattoo meaning is.

Due to the difficult nature of traveling such long distances, these tattoos denote a very experienced and valuable sailor. This is why swallow tattoos are seen as a kind of pride design in which people are glad to tell everyone who sees them how much experience they have on the sea. You can even use this meaning if you are new to sailing and simply want to show off this love to anyone who sees your tattoo.

Another legend tied to the swallow is that they were seen as a guarantee that the sailor will return home safely. This is because the swallow always returns to the same area to mate every year. In this way the swallow tattoo is a good luck charm, so it really doesn’t have to represent sailing at all. This is a great idea for anyone who does not want to get a four-leaf clover or another more commonly seen “good luck” tattoo.