Photo: instagram
Each one has a deeply symbolic meaning for the singer.
By Sloane Solomon — Written on Jan 11, 2020
We already know how cool Selena Gomez is — but her tattoos may be even cooler. In addition to the gorgeous thigh tattoo of praying hands holding rosary beads she famously revealed to the world at the 2019 AMA's, she's been adding to her beautifully meaningful ink collection for several years now.
And in the new video for "Rare", the title track of her just released third album, Gomez, 27, offers us a glimpse of her latest body art — the date of her 2017 kidney transplant on the back of her right arm.
How many tattoos does Selena Gomez have?
Some sources referred to Gomez's latest tattoo as her 15th, but our research to date only adds up to 13.
And in fact, in this December 2019 interview with Capital FM, Selena's own response to that question was, "Honestly, I don't know. I wanna say, like, 13?"
So there.
Never fear, we're sure she'll be adding more, and we will definitely stay on it!
Gomez is obviously a fan of delicate but impactful designs — and each one has a special meaning behind it. Although her tattoo choices are nothing short of amazing, the symbolism and inspiration behind them makes each one truly unique.
Each of her tattoos has a special place in the pop singer's heart and each one has a deeper meaning. All of Selena's tattoos are symbolic of something significant to her life or something she is passionate about.
So, what kind of tattoos does the songstress have, and what exactly are the important meanings behind them?
We've broken down the meanings of all 13 of Selena Gomez's tattoos we could find (for now), along with photos of each.
1. A tiny music note on her wrist
This was Selena's very first venture into tattoos. She even commented in an interview that this is what started her love of getting tattoos.
"This was the first one, and it was because I was testing the waters a bit," she said.
2. The letter "G" on her neck
Some people initially first mistook the letter for a "J", thinking it was meant as a dedication for her then-boyfriend Justin Bieber. However, Gomez explained that it was, indeed, a "G" and it stood for her little sister, not her now ex.
"My little sister's name is Gracie," she said, "so I got that for her."
3. Roman numerals LXXVI on the back of her neck
On the back of her neck, Selena has the Roman Numerals "LXXVI."
When the singer first got the body art, her tattoo artist said only that it was "a tribute to a family member who she said means a lot to her."
Using a Roman numeral to numbers: LXXVI = L+X+X+V+I = 50+10+10+5+1 = 76.
Gomez later revealed the numbers are a tribute to her mom Mandy Teefey's birthday — April 16, 1976.
4. Philippians 4:13 running down her right hip
In 2013, Selena was spotted with a new tattoo. This time, it was a tiny message written on her hip and it was so small that people had trouble making out what it said.
“It’s my favorite Bible verse,” Selena explained to Ryan Seacrest. “It’s Philippians 4:13. ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
5. Sacred 'Om' symbol on her left hip
We can't find any record of Gomez commenting directly about her reasons for choosing this one, but per Wikipedia, "Om, or Aum (written with the generic Devanagari symbol or spelled out in Devanagari as ओं oṃ [õː], औं auṃ [ə̃ũ], or ओ३म् om [õːm]; and occasionally written in the Tibetan form ༀ) is a mantra and mystical Sanskrit sound, sacred and important in the Dharmic religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. The syllable is also referred to as omkara (ओंकार oṃkāra) or aumkara (औंकार auṃkāra), literally "om syllable", and sometimes as praṇava, literally "that which is sounded out loudly". It is placed at the beginning of most Hindu texts as a sacred incantation to be intoned at the beginning and end of a reading of the Vedas or prior to any prayer or mantra."
6. "Love Yourself First" in Arabic on her back
Gomez got herself inked once again in 2014. On the upper part of her back, the singer got the words "Love Yourself First" tattooed in Arabic.
According to Gomez's tattoo artist, she had been wanting this particular tattoo for a long time and even had it written out the exact way she wanted it to be done before she came in.
Gomez quickly shared her new ink with her many Instagram followers.
7. Semicolon tattoo on her wrist
This is one of Selena's most recent tattoos — and it has one of the deepest meanings.
In April 2017, executive producer Gomez and 13 Reasons Why cast members Tommy Dorfman (Ryan) and Alisha Boe (Jessica) got matching semi-colon tattoos, joining the movement of self-proclaimed "mental health warriors" of Project Semicolon, an organization founded by the late Amy Bleuel and "dedicated to presenting hope and love for those who struggle with mental illness, suicide, addiction and self-injury."
The semi-colon, Dorfman explained, "stands for an end of one thought and a beginning of another. Instead of a period, authors use the semicolon to continue a sentence. For us, it means a beginning of another chapter in life, in lieu of ending your life."
8. The word "sunshine" on her foot
This sweet tattoo on the side of Selena's foot is an homage to her grandmother.
"I have 'sunshine' on my foot," she explained, "My Nana would tuck me in every single night and sing "You Are My Sunshine," and so I put it on my foot. She keeps me grounded, so I thought that was where I should put it."
9. The number 4 in the crook of her arm
On her best friend's 26th birthday in August, 2018, Selena and her three closest girlfriends got matching tattoos of the number four, with Gomez noting, "because you are my 4 for the rest of my life."
10. The number 1 on her rib
And because even in the closest group of gal pals there's still a hierarchy of sorts, Gomez and BFF Courtney Barry had matching number ones marked forever on their ribs.
11. An arrow on her thumb
Yes another friendship tattoo, this one is a tribute to her close friend Julia Michaels.
"It's tatted," Gomez wrote in an Instagram story featuring a photo of the two immediately post ink session. "My arrow points to you forever,"
12. Praying hands holding a rosary on her thigh
Gomez unveiled her possibly most beloved (by fans) tattoo so far when she she shared behind the scenes photos from the 2019 AMAs on Instagram, including these super sexy shots of her new thigh tattoo.
We love.
13. The date of her kidney transplant on the back of her right arm.
This photo Gomez shared followers on Instagram shows the somewhat difficult to see number 6 just above her elbow on the backside of her right arm.
While she's never publicly revealed the specific date of her 2017 surgery, this seems to suggest the procedure took place that June.
Sloane Solomon is a professional writer and editor who graduated from the University of Colorado with a Bachelors in English Writing.