The Meaning Behind Adele’s Ten Tattoos

The name “Adele” is extremely well-known in the modern music industry. With hits like “Hello,” “Someone Like You,” and “Easy on Me,” the British singer has been named among the greatest musicians of the past several decades. And, as many know, she has several tattoos across her body. Each holds significant meaning to the artist. Let’s take a look at them.

Coin

Adele’s left wrist features 3 separate tattoos, each of which she got on separate occasions. The largest of them is a coin. Inside, the coin reads “One Penny,” which honors her mom (whose name is Penny).

Tanja Nixx/Lyle Tuttle Tattoo and Museum; 2011

Paradise

On her left hand, Adele has a tattoo of the word “paradise.” While the artist hasn’t explicitly revealed its meaning, it is likely that it refers to her family and that they are her paradise.
Bang Bang Tattoo; 2013

Angelo

Angelo is the name of Adele’s son, and she has his name tattooed on the side of her right hand. Clearly, this tattoo honors her love for him.

Bang Bang Tattoo; 2013

A

Another Angelo-themed tattoo sits behind the artist’s ear.

Artist unknown; first seen in 2013

5

There aren’t any photographs of Adele’s tattoo of the number 5, but based on a Yahoo interview with the tattoo artist, Bang Bang, we can be sure it’s there. It’s located on the inside of her right ring finger. Adele has said that this is her favorite number.

Bang Bang Tattoo; 2013

3 dots

Adele shares this tattoo, located just beneath the coin on her left wrist, with her friend, Civil Wars’ Joy Williams. The dots are an ellipsis, representing the grammatical concept of an incomplete phrase. The tattoo symbolizes progression.

Tanja Nixx/Lyle Tuttle Tattoo and Museum; date unknown

19 21

The final and most recent addition to the tattoos on Adele’s left wrist are the numbers “19” and “21,” meant to symbolize her first two albums. These were named “19” and “21” respectively.

Tanja Nixx/Lyle Tuttle Tattoo and Museum; date unknown

Doves

Adele also has a large tattoo of 5 doves on her back. As is the case with her paradise tattoo, Adele hasn’t made explicit mention of the doves, but they most likely symbolize freedom and strength.

Artist unknown; first seen in 2020

Mountain

On the inside of her right wrist, Adele has a tattoo of a mountain. In an interview with Vogue, the singer stated that this tattoo symbolizes the feeling of always climbing a mountain.

Artist unknown; 2019

Saturn

And finally, Adele’s right forearm features a tattoo of the planet Saturn with a drawing of the Los Angeles skyline inside of it. This tattoo has astrological significance to Adele.

Artist unknown; 2017

The saturn tattoo has perhaps gotten the most attention of Adele’s ink. What does it mean to the singer? Adele has explained that the tattoo was meant to symbolize her Saturn Return, the time when Saturn has fully revolved around the sun and returns to the place it was when she was born. Astrologists claim that this is supposed to mark the beginning of a new cycle in life. For Adele, it was during this period that her life saw many big changes, including a divorce from Simon Konecki.