A Guide to Adam Levine's Tattoos and What They Mean (2024)

Over the years, the Maroon 5 frontman has opened up to PEOPLE about his vast tattoo collection — find out the meaning behind each

Since getting his first tattoo at 21, Adam Levine has amassed a hefty amount of body ink. Covered all over, fans have been intrigued by the designs chosen by the Maroon 5 lead singer — from a back tattoo of a mermaid holding a skull to a butterfly in a spiderweb on his neck.

Luckily, we've been keeping an eye on the rocker's ever-growing body art since he graced the cover of PEOPLE in 2013 as the Sexiest Man Alive. During his interview, he talked all about his ink and the sweet and sentimental reasons behind many of his tattoos.

Here's your complete breakdown of Levine's thoughtful, personal and quirky array of tats.

Dove — upper left bicep

"This was my first tattoo," Levine told PEOPLE in 2013 for his Sexiest Man Alive cover. "I was 21. It was five days after 9/11. I felt this need to say something with this peaceful thing on my body."

"Los Angeles" — upper right bicep

"Simple case of hometown love," the singer told PEOPLE. "Not many people were born and raised in L.A. Gotta wear that badge of pride."

"California" — stomach

He later got the word "California" tattooed across his stomach, perhaps another nod to his roots.

Beaded necklace — chest

"I don't think that you have to necessarily ascribe meaning behind every tattoo," he told PEOPLE about his beaded necklace choice.

Tiger — right arm

"This was inspired by my love of this amazing book of Tibetan drawings," he told PEOPLE.

Shark — side tattoo

"I've always had a strange fascination with sharks," he told PEOPLE in 2013. "I actually think they are the most fascinating creatures on Earth. I guess the tattoo had something to do with that."

Related: Adam Levine Says His Black Rose Face Tattoo Was Fake: I'm 'Too Vain' for That

Eagle — ribcage

"Tattoos wind up being this strange road map or narrative over the years," he explained to PEOPLE. "They always remind me of this long, weird, awesome journey life has been."

Sanskirt — left chest

"A few years ago I fell in love with yoga," Levine told PEOPLE. "The word 'tapas' stands for fire… passion… This keeps me connected to something that changed my life."

"True Love" — fingers

During his 2013 Sexiest Man Alive interview, Levine said his hands and legs were off-limits when it came to tattooing. "I don't do below the waist. You can't do the hands, that's sacred too, that's what you make things with, I'm tied to my hands. I just can't do hands."

But he clearly changed his mind, and ended up getting the words "True Love" tattooed across his fingers which he debuted by grabbing wife Behati Prinsloo's butt in an Instagram photo in 2017.

In an April 2024 photo shared on Instagram, his hand showcased even more ink with a detailed floral design.

Mermaid — back tattoo

He began his large back mural with a mermaid tattoo that features angel wings and is cradling a skull, then added an intricate scene around it showing crashing waves, a lost ship and swallows, which took his tattoo artist, Bryan Randolph, six months to create, according to Levine.

"Mom" — right wrist

Levine told PEOPLE that this was "a last-ditch effort to gain my mother's approval."

"She hates this one slightly less than the others," he added.

"Noah" — right side of abdomen

In an Instagram photo snuggling up to his daughter, Dusty Rose, the singer shared a glimpse of the word "Noah" across his stomach, which may be a nod to his mother, whose maiden name is Noah, which also happens to be Levine's middle name.

Ocean waves — left leg

Levine dedicated three days to get his ocean wave leg design in March 2021. He shared a few Instagram Stories of tattoo artist Nathan Kostechko putting some finishing touches to the large design, captioning one, "Day 3."

In another post, Levine wrote, "Today was ouch but worth it." In a third, he added, "Most painful way to get a tan."

Japanese-inspired design — right leg

In August 2021, Levine spent 13 hours getting an intricate Japanese-inspired design inked on his right leg by tattoo artist Bill Canales.

Levine documented the entire process for his fans, posting a black-and-white time-lapse video on Instagram with the caption, "13 hours later…@billcanales."

Butterfly on a spiderweb — neck

During the great Facebook/Instagram outage in October 2021, Levine made the most of the downtime by tattooing a new design in the center of his neck.

On Instagram he shared a photo of the ink, tagging tattoo artist Nathan Kostechko. "Wise man once said… 'when Instagram goes down…tattoo your throat…' his name was @nathan_kostechko."

At the time the singer posted another pic on his Instagram Story writing, "Had to."

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Read the original article on People.