Even if they’re not identical — besides sharing DNA — twins go through life in a way that outsiders usually can’t understand. Their special connection can sometimes manifest as a supernatural bond where, for example, a twin can sense when their sibling is in pain. Twins sometimes “share a brain” by reacting to the same situation in an identical way.
And when they say twins are the perfect mirror of each other, they weren’t exaggerating. Here’s another twin fun fact: About 25% of identical twins develop directly facing each other, meaning they become exact reflections of one another. According to About.com, "they may be right- and left-handed, have birthmarks on opposite sides of their body, or have hair whorls that swirl in opposite directions." This occurs when the twins split from one fertilized egg more than a week after conception. (Insert mind-blown emoji here)
With all of the bonding that they’ve been doing since being in the womb, twins seem like the best candidates for a matching tattoo. From tiny tattoos to elaborate works of art, here are 30 of the best twin tattoos that we’ve seen.
A Personal Message
Instagrammer @chrissy_jae and her twin marked a special occasion with a matching tattoo. We're not sure of the meaning behind what the tattoos say: "4 months 13 days," but the beautiful thing about tattoos is that no matter their size or level of simplicity, they can still hold great depth and meaning to the wearer.
It's a Twin Thing
We're filing these under a twin thing that we just wouldn't understand. Twins Nellie and Matilda got matching tattoos of some shapes that we can't quite make out, but we're inspired by these delicate, hand-poked tattoos. No matter what the intention when designing your tattoo, there are no limits to what you can symbolize with your designs.
Soul Mates
They're not twins, but they got twin tattoos! These two women are not related by blood but they're the best of friends who got matching ink. This quote is a great way to think of the bonds we share with our best girlfriends: "Maybe our girlfriends are our soul mates, and guys are just people to have fun with." — Carrie Bradshaw (played by Sarah Jessica Parker), Sex and the City
Ornamental Tattoos
These twin sisters got ornamental tattoos featuring dot work and what looks like a snake and two crescent moons. These remind us of Unalome tattoos which are said to represent the path to ascension and spiritual enlightenment within the Buddhist religion. These tattoos possess deep meaning and beautifully depict life’s unpredictable twists and turns.
Twin One, Twin Two
Just in case they forget which twin they are, @myautobiograbee got this cute tattoo with their twin, saying "twin one" and "twin two." They also shared this quote: “So many good things come in pairs, like ears, socks and panda bears. But, best of all are the set of twins, with extra laughter, double grins.” — Anonymous
Identical Fraternal Twins
These kids, I tell ya! This brother and sister set of twins were so excited to get their tattoos. "So we found what we wanted, went to a tattoo parlor and got the ink. After a couple questions about our tattoos from friends and family, we finally realized we got an identical twin tattoo symbol instead of a fraternal twin tattoo symbol . So we have identical matching wrong tattoos." They're still the cutest!
Sentimental Reasons
These twin tattoos of buttons came from a family joke between their parents that manifested 30 years later. One sister shared, "I think about this tattoo as a reminder of consistency and faithfulness and patience and just believing God does work things together for the good." It's so sweet that these twins can look down at their tattoo and be reminded of their parents.
Always
Sometimes all it takes is a simple word to share how you feel about your twin. "Always remember me, I'll always be there for you, I love you always." This minimal design can easily be placed anywhere on the body as a reminder of the connection to that which you love and value.
Rock On!
It looks like these punk rock twin sisters have that mirror image thing going on in their daily lives and even with their multitude of tattoos. The sister on the left has a tattoo on her left arm of a guy that matches her twin's tattoo, but it's on her right arm. Once they face each other, the tattoos match up perfectly.
No Matter How Far
Sisters Lakshmi and Yamini got these twin tattoos in Mumbai, India. Though they currently live in different parts of the world, it looks like the spent some time in the same place and decided to mark the occasion in a permanent way. What better way is there to express sibling love and connection? The tattoos are amazing!
Double Vision
First of all, the tattoo artist, @sebastian_tattoo who is based in Miami, did some stunning work here. These sisters honored each other with beautiful double profiles of what — we're assuming — are their faces. There's no need for color with these tattoos, the simple, yet detailed lines make these tattoos so unique!
Shoulder Symbols
These twin sisters got discreet and sweet matching twin tattoos near their shoulders. We can't make out what they say, but it looks like Roman numerals, maybe a significant date? When deciding to get a tattoo in memory of someone, it can be done in a meaningful way by getting inked with Roman numerals of significant dates, such as their birth or death.
Shot Through the Heart
These twin brothers just couldn't wait to document their matching tattoos and shared their ink (still protected with plastic) right from the tattoo parlor and onto social media. They went for colorful tattoos — a heart with a bolt of lighting going through with the word "brother" scrolled across. Pretty straight and to the point.
Heart & Soul
These twin sisters got the phrase "two hearts one soul" tattooed on their chests. This one can be easily covered with a shirt for those who might not want visible ink at work. While it's fine to choose tattoos for ornamental purposes alone, there are many visually appealing tattoos, like these, that are still able to communicate a variety of messages and concepts.
Imagine
We love these matching tributes to the legendary singer and humanitarian John Lennon. This brother and sister say they've always wanted to get matching tattoos and decided on the Beatles member. Deciding where to place a tattoo on your body is important for style and visibility purposes, but don't forget about the pain: Placement on that most sensitive skin on the top of the foot equals a big ouch!
It's Better in the Bahamas
Here are twin sisters who got matching tattoos for their birthday. They shared: "The palm tree represents our Bahamian heritage, our love of beachy/tropical destinations, and a tribute to a dear family member who we never had the pleasure of meeting, but also had a palm tree tattoo." Getting a tattoo while on vacation is even more monumental.
Pisces Twinning
A couple of matching koi fish for twin sisters. We love the colors and the details on these tattoos, especially the shading that's visible in the fins and tails. The most common meaning of koi fish tattoos is perseverance. They are often used to symbolize the struggles one has overcome or is overcoming in their own life. An idea like this could look great on almost any body part, but the placement on the arm is so cool.
Tiny Tulips
These simple black and red twin tattoos are of tiny tulips resting in a moon. The accompanying caption says, "In the end we were two flowers found in one night." Tulip tattoos symbolize beauty, tenderness, and a real optimism. The red coloring of the flower is a symbol of true love.
All Hallows Eve
For twins who really love Halloween, how about this tattoo? These tattoos probably took a few sessions at the tattoo parlor to complete with all the detail we can see, from the night sky to the pumpkins to the sexy ghosts (one in fishnets!). Sometimes people get a ghost tattoo to represent spirts of the family that is around them at all times. In this case, the ghost tattoo can be viewed as a happy tattoo that represents all the people looking out for you.
Roman Numerals
The "one of two and two of two" idea seems to be a major theme with twins! We mentioned above how Roman numerals are a way to honor a number or significant date that holds importance in your life. They are incredibly meaningful to the wearer. This time these twins got their ink to celebrate their birthday and they've placed them on their ankles.
His & Hers
Here's an interesting idea for a twin brother and sister who want matching tattoos. Bonded for life, these twins each got a tribute to their sibling, written in typewriter print. His tattoo says "her." And her tattoo says, "him." This also seems like a great set of tattoos for a married couple.
Love Yourself
Fans of the South Korean boy band BTS have inspired their legion of fans worldwide to get tattoos. One of the most popular BTS-inspired tattoos is from the Love Yourself: Answer compilation album, which features a string of fanciful heart illustrations. These two sisters were so happy to get theirs. They shared: "It has been our long term dream to get sister tattoos and it finally came into action. This tattoo is really close to my heart as it's a BTS Love Yourself Tattoo!"
Three Dots
Dance artists and performers Anya and Remi are twin sisters from London. They work together, and from the looks of their social media profiles they're together all the time. A popular choice for a small yet meaningful tattoo are three dots in succession, otherwise known as an ellipsis. Ellipsis are used grammatically to indicate that the sentence is not fully complete. Many have used this minimal design to indicate a concept of continuance or an unfinished journey. Others use three dots to convey a deeper spiritual meaning, as three is considered a sacred number in many religions and belief systems.
Womb Mates
This one is unique! Twins from Chicago got inked with two hands doing a pinky swear with "wombmates" written below on the back of their arms. This design is a bold reminder of who was there from the very beginning. In utero, the life functions of twins are in sync. They are literally wired for each other as surely as they’re wired to their mother.
Sun & Moon
These stand out because of the coloring. The sun and moon tattoos on these twin sisters' backs have an ombré effect to them in shades of red, orange and yellow. The meaning of these tattoos, as the sisters stated is: "You see all my light and you love all my dark." The sun is known as a metaphor for consistency, best depicted by the rising and setting of the sun every morning and night. The moon can represent of emotion since its cycles are always changing.
Brotherly Love
These guys shared this quote about each other and their matching tattoos with their birthdate: "always by your side. always have your back. always there for you. always annoying asf but I’ll always love you the same brother. there’s no other person I’ll wanna have #twintattoos with." Awww
Our Heartbeat
There's no hiding these twin tattoos. This one the the arms of two brothers makes us a little emotional because heartbeat tattoos are a symbol of strength, passion, power, love, life, persistence, and endurance. It represents moving on regardless of hurdles life keeps throwing at you. We love that these brothers marked themselves with the times that they came into the world — one minute apart.
We Have a Connection
You can see from their profile smiles that these twin sisters are very happy with their matching tattoos. There's nothing written in the description but we can see there are two women on swings and they're connected by a tin can and string telephone. They probably chat all the time and the tattoos seems to symbolize that they're always available for each other.
Let's Fly Away
Butterflies are some of the most popular designs for tattoos. Butterflies symbolize freedom, beauty, and change, and are often chosen to represent a period of transformation in a woman's life. On these twin sisters, they have pretty sizeable butterflies that are pink with black outlines. Placed on the back of their shoulders, they can cover them when they want, but they're easy to show off in the warmer months as well.
Twin Cheers
If your twin is the person you love to grab a glass of wine with, this may be the perfect tattoo for the both of you. The stick figure style they chose for the artwork is so much fun and they made sure to have their birth year noted too. Other wine-themed tattoos we've seen include corkscrew tattoos, wine bottles, a bunch of grapes or grapevines, and the phrase, "in vino veritas" which is Latin for “in wine, truth.”
