Lucky number tattoo: best ideas and meaning

Lucky numbers: meaning and symbolism

The seven is the most common choice, treated as lucky across Europe and the Americas. Close behind come a shirt number, the number of the house someone grew up in, or a figure that keeps returning to them. Thirteen is its own chapter: it is often tattooed deliberately, in defiance of the superstition, and has a long tradition in tattoo culture.

What is interesting is that luck is not universal. In China the eight is fortunate because it sounds like the word for wealth, while the four is avoided in China, Japan and Korea because it sounds close to death. That is no reason to talk you out of a number, but it is fair to know in advance. If repeating sequences like 111 or 444 are what you have in mind, see angel numbers.

How to set a number

With a single character the typeface carries the entire piece – there is nothing to hide behind. A plain digit reads graphic and modern, script reads soft and personal, and a Roman version adds gravity, turning a one or a seven into an ornament. It is worth seeing the same number in three typefaces side by side, because the difference is surprisingly large.

The second question is size and placement. A tiny number on a finger or behind the ear looks great, but fingers are exactly where tattoos fade fastest and need touching up. If you want the number to last without intervention, give it a little more room and a calmer area of skin.

Styles, designs and placement

Fine line black work leads our gallery. The number stands alone, in a pair – a 7 on each of two people's wrists, for instance – or joined by a small symbol such as a star, a heart or a four-leaf clover. Sometimes it is part of a larger piece together with a date or a name.

We most often tattoo numbers on the wrist, forearm, behind the ear, on the neck, ankle and fingers. It is quick work, heals easily and is a frequent first tattoo as well as a small addition to existing work.

Our artists will set your number in several typefaces so you can pick the one that fits best. We work in English, Czech and Russian.