Common Meanings Associated with Teardrop Tattoos
The tattoo represents a murder. The most common explanation out there surrounding teardrop tattoos is that each teardrop represents a killing. So, in theory, someone with 3 teardrops has killed 3 people, 2 teardrops is 2 people, and so on. The logic here is that the wearer of the tattoo is so hardcore and unemotional that they don’t even cry for the people they harm, so they have to get “fake” tears instead. Just to get this out of the way at the get-go, the vast majority of people with teardrop tattoos these days have not killed anyone. While this may have been a common practice decades ago, it’s no longer a universal meaning (and hasn’t been for some time).
The tattoo signifies time spent in prison. Another common explanation is that the teardrop is a symbol that someone spent time in prison for a crime they committed. Some claim that each teardrop represents a year (or decade, depending on who you ask). This does seem to be a more common reason for someone to get a teardrop tattoo these days.
The tattoo represents a loved one who died. Some people believe that teardrops symbolize personal loss. In this sense, the teardrop tattoo reflects a kind of permanent pain caused by a serious personal loss. There’s some evidence that the teardrop tattoo has also been used specifically as a sign that a prisoner had lost a loved one while they were locked up. Since they couldn’t attend the funeral, they honored them with the tear. As a famous example, 6-time NBA all-star Amar’e Stoudemire got a teardrop tattoo to honor his brother who died in a car crash.
The tattoo represents membership in a gang. According to a lot of people, teardrop tattoos can symbolize membership in a criminal organization. Specifically, some people will claim the tattoo must be “earned” by the member–usually by committing some type of violent crime. There is some anecdotal evidence that certain street gangs use tattoo teardrops to symbolize status or position in the gang, but it is by no means a universal meaning and most criminal organizations don’t put identical tattoos on their members’ faces.
That tattoo reflects triumphs over personal struggles. For some people, the teardrop is a deeply personal symbol of growth and resilience. They may get one of these as an homage to their triumph over a difficult period in life. Like the semicolon tattoo, some people associate the teardrop with success over mental health issues. This meaning may have been popularized by Amy Winehouse, who famously drew a teardrop tattoo on her face when her husband was admitted to a prison hospital (another prison connection!). Lil Wayne got his two teardrop tattoos to symbolize personal loss. Many of his fans believe they’re supposed to honor friends or family who were killed.
Popular Theories Surrounding Teardrop Tattoos
A teardrop under the left eye means something different than the right. Outside of some very fringe contexts, the eye the teardrop is underneath doesn’t mean anything. Some people will say the left eye represents murder while the right eye represents a person you know who was murdered or whatnot, but there’s very little evidence for any of this. These theories may come from Chicago’s old gang scene. There were two large organizations in Chicago with different gangs on each side. One would wear hats pointed to the left, others would wear hats pointed to the right, so you can imagine how the side of something like a teardrop tattoo might have mattered.
The outline of a teardrop means something different than a solid one. Some people believe that whether the teardrop is filled in or not determines whether it was a murder or attempted murder. Others say the fill/outline determines someone’s rank in a gang (it gets filled in when they are “promoted”). We can’t find any real evidence for this practice.
What does a teardrop tattoo actually mean?
Like any tattoo, the significance differs from person to person. There is no hidden secret code for tattoos that applies to all people. One person’s motivation for getting a teardrop can be totally different from another person’s. That’s kind of the beauty of tattoos! You get to choose the meaning and value of the designs you put on your body. The idea that a teardrop tattoo represents murder or loss or gang affiliation or anything like that may have had a lot of truth to it years ago, but if you make any assumptions like that today you’re very likely to be wrong. Sure, there are some historical connections to prison life, but those connections are no longer as concrete as they once were. Teardrop tattoos have worked their way through every element of the cultural imagination to the point that high-end fashionistas and designers are now intrigued by face and neck tattoos!
Origin of the Teardrop Tattoo
The earliest mention of a teardrop tattoo comes from the 1970s. Apparently, the first reference to a teardrop tattoo in the historical record comes from a New Yorker article about a Latino gang member. We can’t find the original article to confirm it, but it was reported that the tattoo symbolized grief and sorrow for the prisoner. There’s no doubt that the practice of getting a tattoo teardrop almost certainly goes back further, but there’s no historical record to prove it.
A court case in Canada likely helped spread the murder theory. In 2004, a man from Toronto named Warren Abbey was arrested for murder. He had a tattoo teardrop and an expert witness for the prosectuion gave some very compelling (and wrong) testimony that the tattoo was a sign that Abbey was in a rival gang. This was a huge deal at the time. In fact, Abbey was eventually awarded a new trial just because the “expert” was proven to have been bending the truth a bit. The expert witness claimed to be basing their opinion on academic studies about youth violence, but none of the studies they cited actually proved teardrop tattoos were linked to gang membership.
The movie Cry-Baby may have popularized the teardrop in the American imagination. The teardrop tattoo wasn’t a particularly common or notable image in American culture until the mid-90s and early aughts. Johnny Depp’s character in the 1990 film Cry-Baby had one of these tattoos, and it’s possible that this brought the idea of the teardrop as a prison tattoo to the zeitgeist. In the film, the titular Cry-Baby gets a teardrop tattoo from another prison inmate. He dedicates the tattoo to the film’s love interest.
Other Common Prison Tattoos (And Their Meanings)
Spiderweb Typically applied to the elbow so that the design wraps around the joint, a cobweb tattoo supposedly represents a lengthy prison sentence. The same way a corner collects dust when it’s ignored, prisoners may feel like society has forgotten about them.
Three Dots The three dots are a popular tattoo that supposedly symbolizes the phrase “mi vida loca” which is Spanish for “my crazy life.” It’s a common gang tattoo, but not associated with any one particular gang.
Five Dots Unlike the three dots, the five dots is an explicitly prison-specific tattoo. The dots are arranged in a square with one dot in the middle. It’s supposed to represent the four walls of a cell with the fifth dot in the middle standing in for the person who has been incarcerated.
Cross with Three Lines The cross with three lines about it is called the “pachuco” cross. It’s commonly found on the skin of prisoners, but isn’t a prison-specific tattoo. It is meant to symbolize solidarity and unity among Latino Christians.
Clock with No Hands This is another legitimate prison tattoo. It symbolizes that the person has time on their hands. Basically, it’s “prison is a waste of time” as a tattoo.
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