Photograph of a young boy with a teardrop tattoo below his left eye.

The teardrop tattoo or tear tattoo is a symbolic tattoo that is placed underneath the eye. The tattoo has several connotations. Teardrop tattoos usually signify the loss of a friend or loved one. Often, for a male, the tattoo is given to represent the death of a brother. An empty tear signifies that the loved one has been killed or that the bearer has unsuccessfully attempted murder. A filled tattoo signifies that a loved one has taken his or her own life, or was killed by a cause other than murder (car crash, death penalty, etc.) A tear with an empty top and a full bottom means that the wearer has avenged the murder of a loved one. The majority of the 'tear tattoos' seen in popular culture today, however, signifies that the wearer has killed, with the number of tears representing the number of kills.

Tear tattoos, when given in prison, primarily indicate that the bearer has murdered someone, either in or out of jail. The tattoo can also be given to commemorate a loved one who died while the wearer was incarcerated.

Celebrities with teardrop tattoos

This list contains some notable individuals with teardrop tattoos:

Rappers

• Birdman
• Chink Santana
• Dolla
• The Game
• Gucci Mane
• Lil Wayne
• Yung Berg
• Yung LA

Other

• Song writer/producer/singer Linda Perry (empty teardrop)
• NBA player Larry Hughes has a tear tattoo in memory of his younger brother, who died.^[4]
• Punk musician Lars Frederiksen has the tattoo in memory of his brother Robert who died of an aneurysm.