Daisy flowers, with their beautiful sunny yellow center, have long been associated with sunlight, happiness, and smiles. Not only that, but there are many other meanings associated with the daisy as well, leading to this sunny flower making a beautiful and popular tattoo choice. The daisy tattoo has existed for many years, representing lots of things, from luck and trust to love and happiness.
The rest of this article will go into detail about the history and symbolism of the daisy tattoo, just what daisy tattoos mean, and some other things like placement and characteristics of the daisy tattoo.
What is the History of Daisy Tattoos?
The daisy has been around for thousands of years. In fact, as early as 2,200 B.C., they were grown in Ancient Egypt and used as herbal medicine. They are believed to have gotten the name “daisy” from the Old English saying “daes eage,” meaning “day’s eye.” This is because the flower blooms at dawn, or the first sight of day.
Although daisies have existed for such a long time, they were formally classified in the year 1792 by a German botanist named Paul Dietrich Giseke. There are more than 20,000 different types of daisies in the world.
Floral tattoos have existed for an extremely long time—maybe, perhaps, almost as long as the daisy itself. In ancient times, tribe members would get local flowers and animals tattooed on their skin as a way of representing their tribe’s roots. If the daisy was particularly important to a specific person or tribe, they may well have gotten it tattooed on themselves.
This tradition has carried through into the modern era. Daisy tattoos have a wide variety of meanings, and people may get it tattooed as a way of symbolizing any of those meanings.
What Do Daisies Symbolize?
Like many other flowers, the daisy has a lot of different meanings. It has long been considered an emblem of luck, trust, love, and happiness. However, this flower also has many other meanings associated with it. Some of those meanings include:
- Innocence, purity, and remembrance: According to an ancient Celtic legend, God would send daisies down to earth to cheer up those unfortunate parents who would lose a baby infant.
- The daisy is the sacred flower of Freya in Norse mythology. She is the goddess of love, fertility, and beauty, so the daisy has come to symbolize those things along with new beginnings, motherhood, and childbirth.
- True love: The daisy is what is known as a composite flower, since it is made up of an inner and outer section that look like two separate flowers. This symbolizes true love, since it is like two beings combined into one.
- Chastity
- Transformation
What Do Daisy Tattoos Mean?
The daisy tattoo can mean a wide variety of things, starting with any of the meanings that the flower is typically associated with.
For example, you may wish to get a daisy tattoo in remembrance of someone you have lost, especially if that person was young when they died. This could be a call back to the Celtic legend where God used these flowers to cheer up those who had lost a child.
Along that same line, if you want to showcase your love for your child, a daisy tattoo could be an excellent choice due to Freya’s Norse association with motherhood and childbirth.
These flowers are a great tattoo for best friends, since they symbolize trust and friendship. Getting a pair of matching daisy tattoos would be an excellent way to showcase the depths of your friendship.
These flowers are the birth flower of the month of April, so those born in April may feel a particular affinity for the daisy. If so, you may want to get one tattooed to symbolize your connection to your roots, just like the ancient tribal tattoos of old.
Where Do Daisy Tattoos Usually Go?
Daisy tattoos are beautiful and delicate, and thus they can look good almost anywhere. However, it is especially popular to get them on the inner forearm or the sides of your wrist, as they can be small sized and emphasize the delicacy of the flower there. Another good location for this is behind the ear or on the back of the neck.
You can also place them in other places, such as over your collarbones or on your ribs. These are both good choices for a delicate daisy tattoo. However, if you want a larger or bolder daisy tattoo, other locations such as your shoulder, thighs, or back may be a good location as well.
Characteristics and Styles of Daisy Tattoos
In the same way that there are an almost infinite number of placement ideas for a daisy tattoo, there are also a ton of different characteristics and styles that may be associated with this tattoo.
Lots of people like to get these flowers tattooed in fine, elegant linework. Minimalist tattoos are also quite popular, since they go well with small sizes and cute styles.
Depending on what color flower you decide to get tattooed, a watercolor style may be an excellent choice. This allows for small splashes of color to match the beautiful petals and sunshine yellow center.
If you decide to get a bolder style of tattoo, a traditional American style or tribal style are also popular choices for floral tattoos. This depends a lot on the size of the tattoo you decide to get. Smaller tattoos look better in a finer, more delicate style, while larger tattoos can require more boldness to match the way they stand out.
Different color flowers may hold different meanings, so be sure to check that out before you decide which color flower to get tattooed.
Conclusion
The daisy is an extremely popular flower with a long history and a lot of different meanings. Getting this flower tattooed can be a great way to showcase any of the traditional meanings, such as love, luck, loyalty, friendship, or motherhood.
It can also mean remembrance and love.
There are a number of ways you can style a daisy tattoo, but no matter where you get it or what style you choose to get it in, you will not go wrong with this beautiful and classic flower.
