Tattoos are a way to speak through the canvas of your body and shine light on your individuality. The back is that vast expanse of our body that can be adorned with several designs where every stroke counts. You can let your imagination reach heights when it comes to picking back tattoos for men that serve as a good symbol of self-expression. We have curated this list of tattoo designs on back for men to make your work easier.
Benefits of back tattoos for men:
- Broad canvas: There are specific big tattoo designs that look quite odd when placed on arms and legs, that is exactly where the back comes into play. The back of a person provides an expansive placement option for big expressive tattoo designs.
- Longevity: Due to a comparatively protected location with the help of clothing, the exposure to the sun and getting chafed is quite less, so they are easy to maintain.
- Visibility: Back tattoos give you the perfect option for flaunting your tattoos when required and concealing them with clothing in professional situations effortlessly.
Things to consider before getting a back tattoo:
- Placement: Placement is crucial when it comes to tattoo designs in general. When talking about the placement of back tattoos for men, one should always look into how it matches and highlights the contours of your back.
- Size: Back tattoos are often expansive in size for the location as they serve as a huge canvas to let your narratives and challenges get expressed artistically.
- Pain: The skin on the back is relatively thicker than other parts and has fewer nerve endings, but at the end of the day, it depends upon your pain tolerance.
- Healing: The bigger the size of the tattoo design, the longer the healing time required.
- Expensive: Since the back is most often considered for big expressive tattoo designs, they require multiple sessions and re-touches to make it look striking, thereby making it a costly option.
Here are some of the best back tattoos for men that you should look into:Â
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1. Abstract minimalist back tattoo
The essence of abstract tattoo designs on back for men lies in the unique way of expressing the meaning of the tattoo through elusive lines and curves. In these back tattoo designs for men, the patterns used are more and most of the time non-representational. In the design below, you can see how effortlessly wraps around the shoulder blades.
Meaning: Individuality, artistry, freedom of interpretation
2. Snake dragon tattoo for back
If you are looking for male spine tattoos that give you the perfect aesthetic look, then a snake dragon design can give you the best of both worlds. The Eastern mythological influence gives you a striking outline with its sinuous body. To get the best results, get these back tattoos for men tattooed in red ink that defines the fine ink work more prominently.
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Meaning: Wisdom, mythical symbolism, knowledge
3. Geometric back tattoos for men
Geometric tattoos rose to prominence for their subtle self-expressive quality. The artistic expression of these tattoo designs on back for men is rooted in symmetry and mathematical precision of the shapes. If you are looking for upper back tattoos for men, then take a look at this design below.
Meaning: Balance, power, consistency
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4. Shiva tattoo design
If you are a Mahadev devout and looking for male spine tattoos of Shiva, then tattoo designs for men back definitely serve the purpose with icing on the cake. Being one of the principal deities in Hinduism, the symbolism of these tattoos is deeply rooted in spirituality.
Meaning: Strength, divinity, spiritualism
5. World map tattoo for travelers
World map outline tattoo designs on back for men are pretty popular among travelers who like to get the design filled in colours after ticking off places to visit from their bucket lists. Below you can see the world map outline inked on a precisely done compass needle. This represents guidance and direction.
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Meaning: Travel, adventure, hope
6. Lettering tattoo ideas for men
Lettering tattoos are one of the best alternatives when it comes to simple or quotation tattoos. The versatility in these designs is unparalleled as you can pick any size, language, and font for inking the text. They also serve as daily reminders for deep emotional resonance. If you are looking for upper back tattoos for men, then the design below can be a good option for you.
Meaning: Remembrance, cultural significance, dedication
7. Modern art tattoo design
Modern art tattoos are the perfect fusion of both contemporary art and traditional body art ideas, giving you a striking design to flaunt. Exploring abstract art forms, they excel in self-expressive symbolism by incorporating unconventional design and pushing the boundaries. So if you are looking for tattoo designs for men back, below you can spot several forms of design clubbed together to give you the required look.
Meaning: Expressing through contemporary art styles with freedom of interpretation
8. Compass needle tattoo design
A compass needle design may symbolize various things depending on its interpretation by the wearer. For some, it represents the spirit of adventure and travel, stability, direction, and guidance, for some it may symbolize resilience. You can pick male spine tattoos that suit your aesthetic and get it done accordingly.
Meaning: Guidance, resilience, stability, direction
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9. Freedom tattoo design with birds
If looking for tattoo designs for men back that represent freedom, then what is better than bird designs? Since forever we have equated the idea of freedom with birds for their ability to fly as it transcends all boundaries and limitations. The flapping of wings has been inked across the spine giving you a striking look.
Meaning: Salvation, freedom
10. Planet spine tattoo ideas
It is quite known to all that each planet has a unique symbolism and such designs undoubtedly reflect your deep-rooted connection to the universe. When the significance of any planet coincides with the personal significance, you can pick any design of such planet that matches your aesthetic. If you are looking for male spine tattoos, this design can be a good option for you.
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Meaning: Spiritualism, discovery, horoscope significance
11. Sword tattoo ideas
A sword undoubtedly represents a rich essence of strength and justice. So, if you are looking for a constant reminder of your strength to pull through all the hardships thrown your way, it can be a good idea to get such back tattoos for men. If you are looking for upper back tattoos for men, this is a great design to look into.
Meaning: Strength, defense, honor
12. Lion back tattoo
Starting from courage and power to protection and guardian, a lion tattoo can symbolize varied meanings. They look the best when the design is big and precisely detailed. If any of these meanings strikes a chord within or is your benchmark to achieve, you can surely go along with a lion design as tattoo designs for men back.
Meaning: Power, leader, strength, courage
13. Angel wings back tattoo idea
Wings are very quickly associated with liberation but apart from that, angel wings also symbolize righteousness and spirituality. In this tattoo design below, the design of the human form is very prominent in depicting angel wings. If you want upper back tattoos for men with subtle notes to wings tattoos which makes it minimal but keeps the message strong.
Meaning: Righteousness, spiritualism
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14. Rebirth phoenix tattoo for back
The mythical bird phoenix is strongly associated with the cycle of rebirth for its unique ability to be reborn from its ashes. It is easily used metaphorically when people overcome a catastrophe and emerge back stronger. These tattoo designs for men back also symbolize consistency and not giving up which can be linked to several personal struggles of a person.
Meaning: Rebirth, change, transformation
15. Yin Yang fish tattoo
If you are looking for tattoo designs that symbolize balance in the universe, good in bad and bad in good, then a Yin Yang tattoo is the perfect choice. You can get any one of the several designs of back tattoos for men available symbolizing the same meaning and pick the one that matches your aesthetic.
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Meaning: Cycle of life, balance, complementary energy
16. Om back tattoo
An Om design has deep-rooted symbolism in religions and can be used to represent the ultimate reality. You can pair the design with sacred geometry or mandalas to give you a rich spiritual appeal. These kinds of back tattoos for men can be ideal for people looking to connect to their roots.
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Meaning: Spiritualism, divinity, Universal sound
17. Single-line tattoo back
Single-line tattoos are the best ideas for people looking for simple tattoo ideas as they take minimal inking but the result is stunning and gives way to a very self-expressive form of abstract realism.
Meaning: Minimalism, connection, continuation
18. Double serpent tattoo design
Serpent tattoo designs are very popular for their varied significance from medicine to immortality in Greek mythology. So if you are looking for some sick tattoo ideas which has a deep symbolism, snake designs might just be the best for you.
Meaning: Security, duality, renewal
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19. Flower tattoo ideas
Flower designs are something that never goes out of style so one less thing to stress about. Apart from the representation of bloom, each flower has its own significance which makes it a common design but unique. Birth flower designs can also be a great idea to be inked with.
Meaning: Nature, growth, beauty
20. Tiger on the prowl design
Like lion designs, a tiger design does not fall short and is quite something to flaunt. The stripes on the body of the tiger are unique and the overall design is rich in symbolism of ideas like guardianship and courage.
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Meaning: Courage, leader, power, freedom
21. Minimalistic butterfly tattoo
Starting with grace to transformation, a butterfly tattoo design is very popular among both men and women. It depicts the growth process in a butterfly and at the same time this equates with the personal struggles of a person. The tattoo below shows rebirth symbolism and is perfect as a spine tattoo design.
Meaning: Transformation, change, renewal
Tattoo rate chart:
Tattoo pricing depends on a variety of things like:
- Size of the tattoo
- Time investment by the tattoo artist
- Experience of the tattoo artist
- Session pricing, etc.
Although rates vary from one tattoo studio to another, to get a rough idea of how much it costs, you can consider the table below:

(Photo taken from alienstattoo.com)
Tattoo aftercare
- Clean the area with water and foam to kill the germs and remove dried plasma or blood.
- Do not get the tattoo exposed to direct sunlight. The UV rays are harmful to the healing skin and often fade the tattoo.
- Avoid rigorous training or swimming till the tattoo heals completely.
- Keep the area moisturized for better healing but do not over-moisture.
- In case of irritation, contact your tattoo artist.
Thus, back tattoos are a great form of self-expression with detailed intricate artistic work on an expansive scale which gives you the perfect opportunity to represent your individuality in style. Tattoos give you the best blend of enhancing physical appearance with bold meaningful and personal narratives etched onto skin with art.
Hope this list of back tattoos for men has been effective in giving you the necessary insight into trendy designs for you to pick from.
Also read: 51 Hand Tattoos For Men That Is Worth All The Pain
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