The ideas in this list range from a few small stars beside a piercing to a mandala built in rings, and the amount of open skin between your navel and your waistband usually decides which one fits.
A belly button is never flat, so whatever you choose has to survive stretching, slouching and years of change.
That favors clean black linework with generous gaps over dense detail, and any symmetrical piece, like the swirls and filigree or the mandala, needs a stencil checked while you stand and while you sit.
1. Sun Tattoo
A sun suits the navel better than most symbols because the belly button becomes the center of the disc and the rays do the rest of the work.
Fine, evenly spaced rays in black and gray keep that shape readable as your skin changes with age.
Short rays sit comfortably on the abdomen, since long spikes will stretch and bend as you move.
Expect this to cost more than a small flash piece, because a circular design has to stay even around a spot that isn’t flat.
2. Koi Fish Tattoo
Two koi chasing each other in a loop follow the stomach’s natural roundness better than a single fish ever could. The navel becomes the still point of the circle, and the bodies wrap around it like water moving.
A single black pass gives you clean scales and bold fins that should hold up well as the tattoo ages.
Have your artist size the circle to your torso, not to a template, and draw it on while you stand and sit so you can check how the fish bend.
3. Stars Tattoo
Stars placed on either side of the navel are the lightest way to tattoo this area, and they pair well with a piercing if you wear one.
4 small stars in different sizes feel more natural than a perfectly matched set.
Keep each star simple, with clean points and a little room between it and the jewelry. Crowded designs blur next to a ring or a bar.
Small work like this usually costs less than a wraparound piece, and the lower abdomen leaves space to add more stars later.
4. Symmetrical Swirls and Filigree Patterns
Mirrored swirls packed with black turn the navel into the middle of a symmetrical, almost tribal frame.
Curved shapes work well here because they follow the body, and the belly button gives the artist a natural point to build the pattern around.
I would choose bold lines with generous gaps over dense filigree, since thin detail packed tightly is what softens first.
Ask for a stencil, and check the symmetry while you stand straight, because the navel sits slightly differently when you slouch.
5. Butterfly Tattoo
A butterfly with wings spread on both sides of the navel makes the body itself the center of the design. Berries and leaves fill the space around the wings and give the piece a garden feel without crowding the middle.
Color is the choice that needs a decision: it looks richer on the stomach, but it asks more of you in the sun and in later touch-ups. Pick one or two colors and let black linework carry the rest.
6. Mandala Tattoo Around Belly Button
A mandala is geometry that already wants a center, and the navel supplies one without any fuss. Grayscale shading, with petals built in rings from the middle outward, gives depth without color.
Pick the number of rings by how much space you have between the navel and your waistline. Fewer, cleaner rings read better than many tight ones.
Because the design is perfectly symmetrical, any wobble shows. Look for someone who draws a lot of geometric work, and study healed examples of it before booking.
7. Handwritten Text Around Belly Button
Words around the navel read best when the lettering stays plain enough to be read at a glance.
Handwritten script paired with block capitals gives a line of text 2 voices, and a few bird silhouettes keep a long passage from feeling like a paragraph pasted on skin.
A short verse or a single sentence works better than a full page, since letters need room to stay open as the skin moves.
Ask the artist to write the text out on a stencil, and check the spacing while you stand, because the waist curves and the lines will tilt.
Pick wording you will still want on your skin long after the mood that inspired it has passed.
8. Abstract Lines and Organic Shapes
Sharp black lines that bend and split around the navel give you a design with no rules to match, which is the appeal.
Because nothing has to be symmetrical, the artist can shape the piece to your waist and let the navel act as an anchor.
I would keep the ink to solid black and leave plenty of bare skin between the shapes, so the lines stay crisp over time.
Expect to approve a stencil, not a finished drawing, so judge how the flow looks while you stand and sit.
Since no template exists, look for an artist whose portfolio shows confident, clean linework.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a tattoo on the side of your stomach called?
I don’t know of one standard name for it; most people just say a side stomach or side abdomen tattoo.
Designs there tend to be black ink with sharp abstract lines and pointed organic shapes running vertically around the navel and down the sides. Sunburst designs with wavy rays are also common on the side of the abdomen.
How do I take care of a tattoo on my stomach?
Follow the aftercare your artist gives you, because proper aftercare is what prevents infection and lets the tattoo heal cleanly.
Sun is the second threat to a stomach tattoo, and color work pays for it most, with faster fading and earlier touch-ups. I can’t give a day-by-day routine here, so ask your artist for their exact steps.
Which tattoo designs work best around the belly button?
Round, balanced shapes sit best around the navel: a sun with short, even rays, a pair of koi circling each other, or a mandala with just a few clean rings.
The navel becomes the center of each one. Thick, confident lines with open space between them hold up better than crowded, hairline detail, which blurs first.
How should a belly button tattoo be sized and checked before it is done?
Have the artist size it to your torso rather than to a template, and draw it on a stencil.
Check the stencil standing straight, slouching and sitting, because the navel and waist shift and can tilt lines or bend a design. Symmetrical pieces like mandalas and swirls show any wobble, so this step matters most for them.
