Maren Morris’s tattoos are easy to miss in red-carpet photos. Most are small, and their placement becomes clearer in close views. A watercolor hummingbird on her inner left forearm is one of the best-known pieces; script and animal-like designs appear elsewhere on her arms.
Morris has also talked about getting tattoos with friends and other artists. Close-up photos show some designs clearly, while online descriptions of others vary. Here, Maren Morris’s documented tattoos are described by what can be seen and what she has said.
The hummingbird on her inner forearm
The clearest piece is a small watercolor-style hummingbird on the inside of Morris’s left forearm. Its loose color and soft edges give it a painterly look, rather than the weight of a dark outline.
Morris has connected the hummingbird with music and with how a song can move from one place to another. It also fits the placement: the small design disappears under a sleeve and stands out when she wears a tank top onstage.
The inner forearm is visible to Morris as she sings or plays, but it can be covered by a sleeve. The hummingbird isn’t only visible to an audience; she can see it too.
Script and lettering along the arm
Side-on photos from the Toronto International Film Festival show vertical script along the upper back and side of the arm. The narrow, dark letters follow the body and can disappear beneath a dress strap until Morris turns.
Some online descriptions combine all the lettering into one tattoo. Photos instead suggest a longer line near the shoulder and smaller marks lower on the arm. Since the script is fine, lighting can make separate pieces look connected. It’s more accurate to describe several script tattoos than to name a quote the photos don’t clearly show.
The script suits a songwriter, but that doesn’t tell us what the words say. Like the rest of the collection, it’s small enough to miss at first. The lettering’s placement is clear even when its message isn’t.
The small marks on her wrists and forearms
Full-length photos show small tattoos around Morris’s wrists and lower forearms. One dark mark sits close to the wrist and another higher on the arm. They are separate fine-line pieces, not one continuous sleeve.
The front-facing Toronto photo shows how easily the small marks blend into shadows, jewelry, and styling. A closer crop makes the wrist tattoo easier to see. The two kinds of photos reveal different parts of the collection.
Fans have read the small symbols as music references or decoration, but those meanings remain guesses unless Morris has explained them. What the photos do show is that her wrist tattoos are small, separate, and understated.
The animal-like design on her upper arm
Live photos give the clearest view of the higher tattoo on Morris’s arm. It has an animal- or bird-like shape, with a darker line through the center and lighter shading around it. Sleeves and movement often hide part of the design, but it appears in more than one performance photo.
The photos don’t make it clear enough to call this another hummingbird. It’s better to describe an upper-arm animal or bird motif and keep it separate from the watercolor hummingbird on her inner forearm.
The lower-arm hummingbird, upper script, and small wrist marks are spread out rather than joined into a single sleeve. Together they mix text and natural shapes, with space between each piece.
Her side tattoo and the pieces that appear in red-carpet photos
The 2024 Gershwin Prize photos show more of the tattoo on Morris’s upper arm and side. A larger dark-and-light design curves beside the arm, with a fine line and softer shading below it. Its shape looks botanical or feathered, but public photos don’t make the exact subject clear.
The placement is clear: the design sits high on the arm and shows when Morris wears a strapless or sleeveless outfit. Formal-event photos sometimes reveal it even when performance shots don’t, especially when she’s photographed from the side.
Some lists call the piece a rose, feather, or bird. The photos don’t support choosing one label with confidence. It’s safer to describe the organic linework than to assign a meaning Morris hasn’t given it.
How the tattoos fit her timeline
The tattoos vary in size and placement. Earlier pieces are often described as small additions from the years when Morris was building her career; later photos show more arm ink, but not a full sleeve. The pieces remain spaced apart.
The designs aren’t joined by filler or large shaded areas. The hummingbird, script, wrist marks, and upper-arm piece each keep their own space. Morris leaves room between the tattoos, so the smaller ones remain visible beside the larger design.
Older photos can hide a tattoo because of a hairstyle, dress, or camera angle; a later image may show it clearly for the first time. Counts also vary depending on whether tiny marks are listed separately. This guide treats distinct visible designs as separate without claiming an exact total.
What is confirmed and what remains uncertain
The clearest details are the watercolor hummingbird on the inner forearm, script along the upper arm and back-side placement, small wrist and forearm marks, and a larger organic design high on the arm. They appear in photos from more than one year and setting.
The exact script, tiny symbols, and upper-arm design are harder to identify. Repeated descriptions online don’t make an interpretation confirmed. The photos are enough to describe placement and style without guessing at a backstory.
Most of the tattoos are easy to cover and easy to miss until a photo catches them. The hummingbird and upper-arm designs still stand out when visible. The collection doesn’t need to take over the outfit to be recognizable.
Watch Maren Morris talk about her tattoos
In the interview below, Morris talks about music, touring, and tattoos.
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