September 7th, 2021

Ampersand Tattoos

Because a bunch of tattoos that said "and" would be pretty boring

I may just be a humble tattoo journalist unschooled in the worlds of Latin, typography and logograms, but I do spend a hell of a lot of time behind the computer pounding away at the keys writing articles for this humble website, and let me tell you, the ampersand is the king of the keyboard.

Don’t believe me? Just look at it.

&

It’s so damn cool.

The humble little logogram was born way back in the first century. As Roman scribes got sick of writing the letters “e” and “t” many times over, they started to squish the two together creating what is known as a ligature, essentially inventing the ampersand as they did so. The ligature wasn’t quite a letter on its own, but it was often tacked on to the end of the Latin alphabet for centuries. In English it was also treated as the 27th letter of the alphabet for some time, which irks me. I mean, the alphabet song even has the word “and” in it, why not just make it the 26th letter and throw Z in there as the 27th… but I was not consulted.

Over the years the symbol was used to stand in for the word “and,” which as a pretty short word, doesn’t really seem like the kind of thing you need to abbreviate. But then, again, look at it!

&

It’s so much cooler than simply typing out those three dumb letters. Plus, it looks classy as all hell in the name of brands. Would you buy anything from Dolce And Gabbana? No, sir, you would not. But Dolce & Gabbana… damn right. Take my money.

The ampersand holds a special place in my heart and I’m far from the only one, as you’ll see in the gallery of Ampersand Tattoos below.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Esther Arocha (@arochatattoo)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Pat Crump Tattoo Artist (@patcrump)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Noel Molina (@tat2noel)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Jeff Proctor (@goodtalkson)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Philipp Pfohl (@philipppfohl)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Kat Clarke (@katclarke_tattoo)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by setharcane (@setharcane)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by shani (@shani.tattoo)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by . . . (@_brets1)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Miriam Calleja (@miriamcalleja)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Lara Stein (@laraislivid)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ally Parsons (@allyparsonstattoos)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by • ALINA • (@tikaratattoo)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Jose Palacios (@_jose_g_p_)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Kally (@jazzy_kally)

Editor's Picks

Heartless Ink Banner Art
Bridging Classical Art and Modern Tattooing

Esteban Rodriguez brings the discipline of classical fine art to the living canvas of skin, creating hyper-realistic tattoos that merge technical mastery with emotional depth.

Show your Ink Fashions Fashion
Show Your Ink Fashions Brings Custom Style to Tattoo Culture

Show Your Ink Fashions creates custom shirts designed to showcase your tattoos as wearable art, blending fashion with personal expression.

Culture
The Ultimate “Superman” Tattoo Roundup: Just in Time for Superman’s Return to Screens

With Superman’s big return to theaters, fans are revisiting some of the most iconic ink inspired by the Man of Steel.

teddy-swims_cover