What does a semicolon tattoo mean?
In writing, a semicolon is where a sentence could have ended and the author chose to carry on. As a tattoo it stands for continuing through mental illness, self-harm or suicidal thoughts · sometimes the wearer’s own, sometimes for somebody they lost.
Where it comes from
The symbol spread through Project Semicolon, a mental health organisation founded in the United States in 2013. It caught on because the metaphor is exact and needs no explaining once you have heard it once.
It is one of the most requested small tattoos there is, and the meaning is personal enough that two people with the same mark rarely mean quite the same thing by it.
What people mean by theirs
Four of the common ones. None of them requires explaining to anybody, including us.
Their own survival, of an illness or an attempt.
Somebody they lost, carried where they can see it.
A commitment made to themselves at a specific moment.
Solidarity with somebody they love who is still in it.
If you are getting one
You do not owe us the story. We will ask where you want it and how you want it drawn, and nothing else unless you offer it.
Worth knowing on the practical side: it is small, and small marks on high-movement places blur soonest. Inner wrist is the most requested spot and one of the harder ones to keep crisp. We will suggest an alternative if we think the placement will cost you the design, and it is still your call.
Some people want it visible and some want it somewhere only they see. Both are common and neither needs justifying.
If you are struggling now
A tattoo is a marker of something, not treatment for it. If things are bad at the moment, Samaritans are on 116 123, free, any hour of any day, and they do not need you to be in crisis to talk to them.
We are a tattoo studio, and the honest thing to say is that this is outside what we can help with.
Related frequently asked questions
Do I need to know exactly what I want?
No. You need enough for us to start a conversation · a subject, a rough placement, or even just a picture you keep coming back to. Turning that into a design is the work you are paying an artist for.
Read the full answer › Do hand and finger tattoos last?
Not as well as the rest of the body, and no artist can change that. The skin on hands turns over faster than almost anywhere else, and fingers crease thousands of times a day, so lines soften and spread sooner. Anyone promising otherwise is selling you something.
Read the full answer › How should I prepare for a tattoo?
Turn up rested, fed and hydrated, and do not drink alcohol beforehand. Good preparation genuinely reduces how much it hurts, cuts down bleeding and helps the skin take the ink cleanly.
Still want to ask somebody? That is what the first conversation is for.
- Written and checked by
THRONE , a tattoo studio in Northampton.
Last checked 28 August 2026 .