Adam Levine’s tattoo collection has grown piece by piece, from an early dove to a large backpiece and tattoos across his neck, arms and legs. Traditional animals and flowers fill some of the space; other designs have stories he has shared. A few were simply pictures he liked.
The photos and interviews confirm plenty of designs, but not every meaning. This guide sticks to tattoos Levine has discussed or that show clearly in pictures, and leaves the rest open. There is no official count; cover-ups and new work quickly date older lists. For another collection, see our Selena Gomez tattoo guide.
The neck and head kept changing after he said he was done
The latest additions show how quickly old tattoo lists go stale. In July 2025, Levine joked that a painful sleeve cover-up had left him “kind of done with the pain” and said he was running out of room. Four months later, he was back in the chair, adding more work around his head and neck.
Roses for the reaper and the mark above his ear
In November 2025, Levine posted black roses framing the reaper already on his head and neck, with the caption “Roses for the reaper.” Tattooer Nathan Kostechko, who had worked on other neck pieces, said the roses brought life to the existing design. The reaper was already there; the roses are the new layer. EntertainmentNow quoted both Levine’s caption and Kostechko.
The small geometric design above Levine’s right ear was already there in 2024. Tattooer Scott Campbell shared the stencil and finished work, confirming the placement and his involvement. Neither man gave it a personal meaning.
The butterfly caught in a web
In October 2021, Levine added a butterfly caught in a spiderweb at the center of his throat. Nathan Kostechko did the tattoo. When Instagram went down, Levine joked that the sensible response was to “tattoo your throat.” That is the explanation he chose to share; he has not tied the image to a deeper meaning. Us Weekly placed it above the “family” lettering and beside a leaf tattoo.
The flower and sacred heart on either side
A fine-line flower sits on the left side of Levine’s neck. Published coverage credits tattooer Sasha Masiuk. It is a single bloom with leaves, not a sprawling rose sleeve; older photos make it easier to see than current stage shots.
On the other side, a small sacred heart has been credited to Kostechko. The compact design combines a heart, rays and a blade-like detail. Alongside the flower, butterfly, leaf, “family” lettering and later roses, it makes the neck a cluster of separate tattoos. Levine has not described one story that connects them all.
The backpiece is a whole scene, not one isolated mermaid
The backpiece is a full black-and-grey scene, with a winged mermaid holding a skull at its center. Swallows, a ship’s wheel and other nautical details fill the space around her. It stretches from shoulder to shoulder, beginning at the nape and running toward the waist. Calling it only “the mermaid tattoo” misses how the other elements make it a complete scene.
Six months in the making
Levine posted the finished work in February 2016, crediting Bryan Randolph of Spider Murphy’s Tattoo in San Rafael. Us Weekly said the project took about six months; Levine’s caption read “6 months in the making.” A work-in-progress photo shows the scale, but the finished image gives the clearest view of the scene. Levine has not said what it means, so tying it to a particular person or event would be speculation.
Early tattoo roundups also mention a paw print and the name Frankie high on Levine’s back, reportedly a tribute to his dog. The small pieces are separate from the mermaid mural. Recent photos do not show clearly whether either is still visible under later work.
His chest and abdomen mix lettering with traditional images
Several chest and stomach tattoos are easy to pick out: the Sanskrit word tapas above his heart, a rosette, large bird and animal designs, and California across his abdomen. A wide performance photo shows how closely the pieces sit together.
Levine has explained “tapas” more than most of his tattoos. In an Inked interview reported by Us Weekly, he linked the word to yoga and to an idea of inner fire or determination. He also cautioned that people might misread it. He has not offered the same kind of explanation for the rest of the chest work.
The eagle spreads across his upper abdomen, near a lion and other motifs. Nearby are a hand holding a rose, a cherub and smaller flowers; a shark is reported on his ribs, an animal he has said fascinates him. Photos show the larger designs across his front, while the shark sits around his side. Lighting and camera angles hide some finer details. The word California is clear across his stomach. Levine has spoken about his connection to Los Angeles, but has not tied the lettering to a specific story.
The beaded chain tattooed around his neck and upper chest began as a necklace Levine picked up in Japan. He told Inked he got bored and had it tattooed, then added that he liked it. He has said not every tattoo needs a meaning; this one came from a design he wanted to keep.
The sleeves grew from individual symbols into dense coverage
A tiger stands out on Levine’s right arm. He has said it was inspired by a book of Tibetan drawings. In photographs, the animal sits amid the denser sleeve work that has grown around it.
Older arm photos also show a dove, cherry blossoms, birds and musical imagery. Levine has said the dove was his first tattoo: he got it at 21, after the September 11 attacks, as a peace symbol. Cherry blossoms fill the area around it. A guitar and small birds appear on his forearms too, though they can disappear into the larger sleeve in performance shots.
Some pieces mark Levine’s career and home. Tattoo roundups associate 222 with the address of Maroon 5’s first recording studio and the Roman numeral X with the band’s tenth anniversary. “Los Angeles” appears near a shoulder. Older reports identify the marks, though newer photos do not show every letter clearly.
The heart for his mother
A heart with “Mom” inside is one of the clearest family tributes in older photos. Levine joked that it was a last try at winning his mother over, and that she disliked this tattoo a little less than the others. The dedication is straightforward; the joke is his.
Early tattoo guides also list a pin-up on one shoulder, along with the paw print and Frankie lettering on his back. Those details come from older inventories; recent photos do not make clear whether they are still visible.
“True Love” is the hand tattoo he still singles out
The words “True Love” across Levine’s knuckles are among his best-known tattoos. In 2019, he told People he had once ruled out hand tattoos, then changed his mind. By 2025, he named them among his favorites, while joking that choosing one was difficult. The phrase is easy to spot in performance photos and has stayed legible as the sleeve around it has grown.
The hand tattoos also break a rule Levine once set for himself. An earlier interview quoted him saying he would not get tattoos on his hands or below the waist. He later did both. So much for that rule.
The leg work took long sessions and covered new ground
A large ocean wave wraps around Levine’s left leg, running from the ankle toward the thigh. Nathan Kostechko worked on it over several sessions; reports say the tattoo took three days. A cropped stage photo can make the design seem like a much smaller tattoo than it is, so the full view gives a better sense of its scale.
In August 2021, Levine spent 13 hours over two days on a large right-leg tattoo with Bill Canales. Coverage described it as Japanese-inspired, but the available photos do not show enough to identify every figure.
There is no reliable official tattoo count
Online lists put Levine’s count somewhere in the high twenties or above 30, depending on when they were written and whether a sleeve counts as one project or many tattoos. Cover-ups and later additions make the total shift. In July 2025, he said he was running out of room after covering one sleeve; by November, black roses had grown around the reaper on his head and neck. There is no official number.
The collection makes more sense as a timeline than a tally: early work such as the dove and California lettering, then the traditional animals and flowers, the long backpiece, and later tattoos across his neck and legs. Some pieces are personal, some are jokes, and others were simply images Levine liked. He has said not every tattoo needs a meaning. You can read the collection that way, without asking every design to tell the same story.