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Not for the meek or passive, the lion symbolizes strength, bravery, power, respect and royalty.
The lion is the specimen of health, and the bearer of this symbol exudes youthfulness, vitality and a zest for life. Nothing about the lion is understated.
From his thick, lush mane to his mighty roar, the lion makes his presence known and is respected and feared by all.
The lion carries significant symbolism in a number of cultures. In Christian culture, the lion is often said to represent Christ himself.
People often opt for tattoos of both the lion and a lamb, representing Christ and his followers, the stark contrast between the power of the lion and his gentleness toward the small and weaker lamb.
Rastafarianism takes the image of the lion even further, promoting him to diety status. The Lion of Judah represents the second coming of the Messiah, and is sacred in their culture. Lions are guardians and protectors.
They’re often seen protecting important buildings. In New York City, lions, originally named Lady Astor and Lord Lenox are the keepers of knowledge as they guard the most famous library in the world.
The mayor later changed their names to Patience and Fortitude to reflect the indomitable spirit of New Yorkers.
A lion tattoo gracing the body is no small statement. The woman that wears this symbol of strength tells the world she is brave, courageous and has fought hard battles and come out victorious.
With the lion tattoo, people will defer to her authority, laying prostrate at her feet. They revere her for her nobility, protection and integrity. She is the Leo, the one who harnesses the sun.
Lion design idea inspiration:
Most popular species; includes now extinct animals: – Asiatic
– African Lion
– Katanga Lion
– White Lion
– Congo
– Masai Lion
– Abyssinian Lion
– Transvaal Lion
– Barbary
– Nubian Lion
– Black
– Cave and Primitive
– American
– Eurasian
– Beringian cave
– Sri Lankan
– European
I love the light the artist was able to capture in this stunning thigh lion tattoo design for women. The line work is expertly detailed, and the light in this king’s eyes is very believable. Three, softly shaded roses add a softness and femininity to this piece. The roses and the lion are all black and grey, but the lion’s eyes are amber colored.
The dark and light contrast is striking in this black and grey women’s half sleeve lion tattoo. The face is saturated and heavily shaded, while there is abundant negative space in the mane, creating an illuminated illusion. The background is black, making the illustration pop.
This colorful neo traditional rib cage side tattoo depicts an image of a male lion with lots of soft, feminine details. The lion is wearing a dangling string of pearls on his head like a crown, with a blue gem at center. The lion has a flowing copper mane, soft white fur around his muzzle, and piercing yellow eyes. Blooming peony flowers adorn the lion’s noble head.
This black and grey lion women’s outer forearm tattoo is airy and dainty with lots of negative space. A kingly lion’s face is draped in roses, curving patterns and dots of draping pearls. A softly shaded feather hangs below the design. The lion is sparsely and expertly shaded, and has a beautiful face.
This unique lion tattoo design looks just like a watercolor painting. The lion’s face peers out of drippy red and orange paint. The details of his mouth, nose and eyes are dotted with black ink, and straight dotted lines add more unexpected detail. The eyes are colored a contrasting green, and are full of light.
This magnificent women’s back tattoo depicts the royal face of a male lion, with a kingly crown on his head, adorned with a string of pearls and a massive, oval gemstone between his eyes. The design is colored pink and purple, and is stylized with straight lines in the mane and curling whiskers. A round gem floats below the piece.
This floral, mountain lion sleeve tattoo is colorful and very feminine. The lion peers out with bright, blue eyes. Her fur is colored with shades of creamy tan and beige, with darker accents above her eyes. Blooming pink peony flowers frame her pretty face.
This incredibly 3D realistic black and grey woman’s lion tattoo looks ready to pounce right out of this design. His face is alert and focused, and framed by softly lit, blooming flowers of three different varieties. The textures the artist was able to capture in the lion’s face and the soft petals of the flowers is truly astounding.
This sweet women’s watercolor leg lion tattoo is an explosion of color. The girl’s design looks as though it were painted with pastels. The lion’s face is shaded with bright yellow, gold and orange, while his mane is bursting with every color of the rainbow. He wears a very sweet and gentle expression.
This black and white women’s thigh tattoo depicts the profile of a lioness’s face, wreathed with an arrangement of flowers. She appears to be gazing off in the distance. The contrast between very saturated black lines and abundant negative space makes for a very bold and clean tattoo design idea for women.
This stylized lion’s face tattoo is spacious and very beautiful. Half of his face is drawn with curving lines and soft shading, and a representation of leaves flowing from his mane. The other half of his face is entirely floral, with flowers and herbs drawn with bold lines and minimal shading.
This sweet lioness and cub tattoo is understated and very pretty. A minimalistic mother lioness holds her cub in her mouth. They are surrounded by blooming flowers in soft pastel tones. Her eyes are blue and her nose is pink, matching the colors in the flowers.
This creative lion tattoo depicts a lion, sauntering by, in a minimalistic design drawn with a single line. Heavily saturated colors in a bright yellow through purple spectrum, fill geometric shapes within the drawing. I love all the negative space and fine line work contrasting the bold color.
This lion’s face tattoo design is softly shaded in black and grey. His head is crowned with a voluminous flower, with leaves that cascade down his forehead. Two giant roses adorn the side of the lion’s head.
This female mountain lion tattoo is surreal and absolutely gorgeous! The lion is realistically detailed, but has four eyes. The design is mostly black and grey but the top two eyes are colored bright green and turquoise. The animal’s face is framed with intricate, bold patterned designs, including four concentric circles on her forehead with the profile of a reindeer inside.
Spectacular white lilies frame the face of this black and grey lion in this woman’s forearm tattoo. The tattoo is simple and effective. It’s a lovely blend of masculine and feminine. The negative space in the lion’s face outlined with his dark mane, makes the design pop.
This dainty lion tattoo is simple, but the line work is bold and clean. The lion’s face is crowned with a floral, geometric design, and his mane is dripping with lines of diamond crystals. Another diamond hangs between his eyes. I love the spaciousness of this tattoo with all that negative space.
This woman’s massive back tattoo depicts the face of a lion, gazing out with a sullen expression. The tattoo is black and grey, with tons of detail and texture. The lion’s nose is broad and marked with small lines of scars. The mane is thick, soft and heart-shaped.
This black and grey tattoo idea depicts a male lion’s profile, wreathed with an arrangement of flowers. The lion’s face is shaded very softly, with a thick short mane and eyes that stare off into the distance. The flowers create a crescent shape around his face.
This cool lower back tattoo design consists largely of a bold, swirling pattern reminiscent of Victorian molding, with the face of a lion staring out of the center of the design. The line work and shading is very saturated, and the overall design looks vaguely like a tulip flower with symmetrical leaves.
The placement of this woman’s hip tattoo flows perfectly with the shape of her body. The heavily saturated tattoo depicts the profile of a male lion, staring out into the distance in front of a black background, and surrounded by swirling lines of negative space and full blooming roses flooded with soft light.
The dotted texture of this elaborate lion tattoo is really unique. The tattoo depicts the face of a male lion, crowned with a teardrop shaped gemstone, lined with pearls. The lion’s left eye and the left side of his mane are bursting with various flowers. More flowers rest beneath his right cheek, along with three more pendants, hanging from dainty chains.
This woman’s bold back tattoo consists of a male lion’s face, framed in a triangle of dripping paint. The lion is saturated with bright orange and gold color, with blue eyes and a red nose. The background looks hurriedly painted with bold red, black and purple.
These calf tattoos are drawn with simple, curvy line work, leaving plenty of negative space. This woman wears a phoenix on her left calf, and a lion’s face on her right calf. Half of the lion’s face was drawn, while the other half was left blank. He wears flowers on his head, along with lots of swirling lines, dots, and diamonds.
This beautiful women’s lion tattoo design has a sparse illustration of a male lion, appearing deep in thought, with very detailed black line work. Below the lion’s face, a lovely arrangement of pink and blue flowers contrasts the spacious lion.
This black and grey shoulder tattoo depicts a male lion, staring outward with piercing green eyes. The tattoo just hints at a mane circling the lion’s face. The nose is broad and dark, and the whiskers are light with negative space.
The sweet male lion in this tattoo is portrayed with a mane of flowers and herbs. The tattoo design idea is minimally shaded, with expert clean line work, and plenty of space. The lion’s eyes appear so gentle, and the floral wreath adds femininity and softness to the design.
This woman’s forearm lion tattoo is portrayed with small ferns flowing through his mane. A flowering branch winds below his face. The lion wears a stoic expression. The design has bold black lines, and no color.
This woman’s hip tattoo has a lot of different elements. The tattoo depicts a male lion, wearing a Native American feather headdress, with eagle talons crowning his forehead. The mane appears to be draped with beads, and he is wearing a geometric collar, hanging with beads and a flying moth.
This lion tattoo appears to have been painted with watercolors. The tattoo depicts a male lion’s face painted in a rainbow of colors across the night sky. Twinkling stars adorn his bright, colorful face. The tattoo is finished with realistic drips and splashes.
This black and grey, stylized lion tattoo portrays a cute lion face, etched with twisting line work, and a small heart on his forehead. Giant peony flowers flow from his mane, as well as stems of small leaves and flower buds.
This woman’s large back tattoo is surreal and stunning! A male lion’s face stared out from between her shoulder blades. This masculine image is crowned with angular gemstone jewelry. Feminine flowers and leaves grown from his mane in beautiful symmetrical curves.
This lioness tattoo is softly shaded in black and grey. Her serene face is surrounded by big petunia flowers, and gentle black and grey lines from the tattoo in a rectangle shape. This tattoo is feminine and strong!
This abstract lion tattoo design is bold and saturated. The clean black line work contrasts beautifully with the negative space. A large turquoise gem on the lion’s forehead, along with turquoise eyes and a smaller gem below his chin add a flash of color.
The sweet lion depicted in this black and grey tattoo doesn’t look like he would hurt a fly. His soft shaded face wears a gentle expression, and his head is crowned with peony flowers and tiny leaves. The image is set into an inverted triangle background.
This dynamic tattoo design shows an abstract lion on the hunt. The front half of his body is rather realistic, with a snarling open mouth, while the hind end of his body is drawn with fragmented geometric shapes. Some shapes are left empty, others are black, and some are filled with black lines.
This Christian lion tattoo depicts the shape of a cross, adorned with hibiscus flowers and leaves. Within the cross, the face of a male lion stares out. The tattoo is simple, but clean and effective. The lion wears a calm and stoic expression.
This forearm tattoo portrays the profile of a male lion, staring out into the distance. He is decorated with white lotus flowers. Behind him, a sunset scene depicts the silhouette of a lion on the ridgeline. The black and grey lion themed women’s tattoo design idea is shaded with dots adding a lovely texture.
This unique woman’s upper arm tattoo shows the face of a lion, heavily saturated, in black and grey. Ornate patterns frame the top of his head and the bottom of his chin. Six pink flowers are tucked into his mane. His eyes and expression look so sweet and gentle, and a bit sad.
This gorgeous lion tattoo is marvelously illuminated. The artist was able to capture so much light in this black and grey design. Four soft roses decorate the lion’s face, and there is just a hint of mane disappearing behind the flowers. The lion appears to be gazing contentedly up at something.
Lion tattoo meaning and symbolism:
Most popular meanings behind lion designs: Be fierce, strong, independent and courageous. Lions are majestic animals that roam with such powerful prominence. Throughout history lions have been known as “king of the beasts” and it’s truly not hard to see why. Many refer to them as symbols of kings, often extending that symbolism to things such as nobility, royalty and so on. It make sense when you try to imagine the thought of killing a lion with your bare hands. Even with tools, the task would be literally impossible. You’d surely get torn to shreds by this all-powerful creature. No woman would ever test a lion’s patience, period.
Beyond the classic ideas of being powerful, strong, etc. many have viewed lions as creatures that not only represent earth, but creatures that could adapt and overcome strong floods. This thinking has turned lions into a symbol of fertility and indestructibility.
Others symbols include: vigilance, family (as lions live in large groups, though, they aren’t afraid to roam alone), nurturing relationships, affection, free spirits, wisdom, awareness, etc.
Christianity meanings:
Christians viewed lions as a symbol of Christ, given their power and might. However, some view jaws as a display of terrifying Satan’s furry and wrath. A closer look into the bible reveals lions had a winged appearance in the 7th chapter of the book of Daniel. Here, Daniel had dreams of four winged lions.
Greek Mythology meaning:
In Greek mythology (The Nemean Lion), you’ll find lions have a supernatural nature in the story of Heracles. In short, early warriors could not defeat the lion, regardless of what tools they had used. These massive lions had impenetrable fur and used that to their advantage to steal Nemea woman and keep them inside of their lair.
It wasn’t until a solar hero came along, who could finally be declared the victor. Though, this solar hero didn’t even used advanced tools or anything of that nature, in fact, he used his bare hands. Now, that is incredible! Because the solar hero was such a boss, he ended up wearing the lions pelt as a form of armor. Yeah, no one is ever messing with him.
Celtic Mythology meaning:
In Celtic mythology, King Author had a love affair to being depicted as a royal lion with a crown atop of its head. If you look into the story of Yvain, the King of the Lion (or the Perceval knight), you’ll come across a moment where a giant dragon had battled against a fierce lion. The lion becomes a companion animal to Yvain, as Yvain views the animal as a nature being.
The dragon on the hand, is a mysterious creature with a darker history and questionable origins. The two eventually defeat the dragon, and the lion shows his gratitude by bowing his head to Yvain and standing on his hind legs. From this point on, the two would travel together, with Yvain demanding his lion stay by his side no matter where their travels had taken them.
Hinduism meaning:
Did you know that the god Narasimha translates to “lion man”, and is actually an incarnation of the god Vishnu? Narasimha restores the Dharma, aka the cosmic order, by putting an end to all forms of evil, calamity and religious persecution on Earth.
