The Cultural Meaning Of Dragons

The word Dragon comes from the ancient Greek word Drakōn, which means ‘serpent.’ Hence, all dragons have serpent-like bodies.

While dragons were believed to be evil and monstrous in the West, they were adored and magnificent, godly creatures in Eastern cultures.

In Asian cultures, dragons signify freedom and bring luck, fortune, strength, and triumph over evil.

Korean Dragon Tattoos

39 Popular Red Dragon Tattoo Designs

1. Red Dragon Surrounded By Flowers Tattoo Design

This is a big red dragon tattoo. The body of a dragon is wrapped around red flowers. Flowers represent love and passion. So a tattoo with a dragon wrapped around flowers represents a great fiery passion. The details are magnificent.

2. Fiery Red Dragon Tattoo Design

This is a smaller tattoo than usual. The dragon has his mouth open and is ready to spitfire. It’s a beautiful tattoo with many details. It represents aggression and passion.

3. Red Dragon Neck Tattoo Design

This design is attractive because it’s tattooed on the neck. It’s almost like the dragon is hiding deep within, and you must be aware of it. A great smaller tattoo if you don’t want to show off constantly, but when you do, it’s a show-stopper.

4. Red Dragon Back Tattoo Design

This dragon tattoo design is tremendous, present, and is looking directly at us. It’s a massive and powerful tattoo with many details, and its presence is rarely missed. Having it on your back means the dragon will protect you from behind.

5. Shoulder Dragon Tattoo Design

Tattooing a red dragon on your shoulder means it will watch over your shoulder for you. It’s very protective and powerful. The tattoo has a lot of details and follows the shoulder naturally.

6. Spine Red Dragon Tattoo Design

This is a very powerful statement tattoo. The dragon walks across the spine, implying the person is strong, with authority and power, like a dragon mother. It’s a great representation of mothers and their protective abilities.

7. Rib Red Dragon Tattoo Design

This red dragon is tattooed on the ribs, and most people say it’s the most painful part of the body for a tattoo. This person is fearless but doesn’t parade it around. The dragon is just under the shirt and ready to bulge out when needed.

8. Inner Arm Red Dragon Tattoo Design

This dragon tattoo doesn’t have that much shadowing and details. If it’s on your inner arm, it won’t be visible all the time. It’s a great way of representing confidence and serenity. It’s a great confidence reminder for yourself.

9. Protective Red Dragon Tattoo Design

Tattooing a red dragon on your shoulder means it’s watching behind your shoulder for you and protecting you. It’s a great way of having a bit of luck with you all the time. The tattoo is beautiful and detailed.

10.  Red Dragon With Roses Tattoo Design

Roses signify the most outstanding and highest level of passion. Tattoos with roses often are a reminder of a loved one, and the color can imply whether it’s a deceived loved one or not. Red dragon tattoo combined with roses illustrates a fiery passion but also protection for a loved one. It’s a significant tattoo.

Also Read: 60+ Inspirational Rose Tattoo Design Ideas: Ultimate Guide (2023 Updated)

11.  Leg Red Dragon Tattoo Design

This is a somewhat big leg tattoo. It’s a very fierce and powerful design. The claws are open and ready to fight, the mouth is openly prepared to spitfire. This tattoo describes a lot of passion and aggression.

12.  Red Dragon Wrapped Around A Heart Tattoo Design

Anatomical hearts symbolize a presence of great love in life, whether it’s romantic or friendly. This red dragon is wrapped around not only the heart tattoo but the whole body. It’s a vast power statement that shows confidence and fiery love at the same time.

13.  Red Dragon In Attack Tattoo Design

Most dragon tattoos are of dragons fighting or about to fight. After all, the dragon is a great protector and fighter. Having a tattoo of a fighting dragon on your back means it will watch your back and protect you from enemies or any harm—a very lucky tattoo to have.

14.  Japanese Red And Black Dragon Tattoo Design

In Japanese culture, dragons are considered water deities; therefore, they are almost always drawn within clouds. The serpentine body is wrapped around a sword, signifying a great warrior and protector. A mix of red and black ink makes this tattoo look more powerful and meaningful.

15.  Hip Red Dragon Tattoo Design

Tattooing a red dragon on the hip can be a compelling statement. Seeing that the dragon is drawn in the clouds, it’s probably a Japanese dragon. The red ink is very bright and powerful, making the whole tattoo look great.

16.  Red Dragon On The Back Tattoo Design

A red dragon on your back is watching over you and ready to protect you. The tattoo is extensive and magnificent. The shadowing of the tattoo is perfectly done, making the details pop out and the whole tattoo look fierce and fiery.

17.  Red Dragon Wrapped Around A Woman Tattoo Design

This tattoo represents the great contrast between Yin and yang energy.  The dragon has a lot of yang, masculine energy, while the woman with Asian embellishments means yin energy. Using the black ink for one image and red for the dragon also adds to the meaning of this contrast. While the woman looks calm and serene, it represents intelligence, and the dragon is fired up, ready to fight. It’s a great warrior combination.

18.  Red Dragon With Black Flowers Tattoo Design

Tattooing flowers on a red dragon can mean a lot of things. It can represent how something beautiful can come out of passion and love. A dragon is considered a protector, so it can also mean the protection of loved ones. This is a massive and bold tattoo.

19.  Red Dragon Arm Tattoo Design

This is a small red dragon tattoo design. The dragon has flowers on him that make him more graceful and magnificent. It also looks like it’s going up flying somewhere. The tattoo is very detailed and lovely.

20.  Shoulder Red Dragon Tattoo Design

Tattooing a red dragon on your shoulder means it will watch over your shoulder for you. However, in this tattoo, the dragon’s head is on the front side of the body, which can signify that it is ready to protect and attack any enemy. The tattoo has a lot of details and follows the shoulder naturally.

21.  Horizontal Red Dragon Tattoo Design

This is a smaller and tasteful red dragoon tattoo on the ribs. It is the belief that dragons bring fortune and happiness. Having a small beautiful red dragon tattoo is a splendid omen to carry around with you.

22.  Hip Red Dragon Tattoo Design

The red dragon is known to be a great protector and to bring happiness. They symbolize power and longevity. It is a powerful statement to have a giant tattoo of a red dragon magnificent as this one, whose serpent-like body curves gracefully show its supremacy.

23.  Neck & Back Red Dragon Tattoo Design

The serpent-like body of a dragon curls down to the spine. The tattoo has a lot of great details on the body and the head of a dragon. Having a red dragon tattoo on your back is a lucky omen that will protect you.

24.  Red And Black Fiery Dragon Tattoo Design

This is a magnificent dragon art piece. The colors combined make it look more incredible and more powerful. The details of its body make it look dangerous and untamable. It’s a huge and demanding tattoo, so it’s essential to know your artists’ abilities.

25.  Vertical Red Dragon Tattoo Design

This is a vertical red dragon rib tattoo. It’s a huge design, and only red ink is used. Red signifies passion and power, which goes perfectly with a dragon. The head, and the body as well, of the dragon, have an extraordinary number of details. It’s a magnificent red dragon tattoo.

26.  Fire Red Dragon Tattoo Design

This is another level of a red dragon. Not only is the outline red, but the shading, which makes it even more fierce and powerful. It’s a fiery tattoo, and seeing that it’s on a hip makes it even more special.

27.  Warrior Red Dragon Tattoo Design

This is a different red dragon tattoo since it has “Warrior” written through it. The dragon is hiding behind the “Warrior” writing, his true meaning.  At the end of it, we see a crown, which is a symbol of royalty. It is believed that the first Japanese emperor was a descendant of the dragons, which is why Japanese dragons represent the protection of the royal family of Japan.

28.  Side Red Dragon With Wings Tattoo Design

This is another type of dragon since it has wings. Besides power and protection, dragons also represent freedom. In this dragon tattoo, we can see that depiction of freedom where the dragon is flying to the moon. It can also have a spiritual meaning of soul freedom.

29.  Red Dragon Around The Arm Tattoo Design

This is a simpler version of a red Japanese dragon, but the tattoo’s position makes it look a lot more interesting. The way the dragon’s tail is twirled around the arm makes it look like a symbolic tattoo of significant meaning.

30.  Behind The Ear Red Dragon Tattoo Design

This is a smaller red dragon tattoo on the neck behind the ear. Even though it’s small, it’s a significant tattoo. Since the design is behind the ear, you can always choose when to show it off and hide it in other circumstances.

31.  Giant Stomach Red Dragon Tattoo Design

This is an extraordinarily detailed and extensive tattoo. Its’ presence is very much noticeable since it’s right in front of you on a stomach. It’s a magnificent art piece of what all dragons represent.

32.  Bracelet Red Dragon Tattoo Design

This tattoo is designed like a bracelet. The dragon is swirling around the arm like he owns it and is there to protect from any enemies that may attack.

33.  Korean Red And Blue Dragon Tattoo Design

This is a great Korean dragon tattoo. Since dragons are considered welcoming and kind in Korean culture, they usually have a blue color mixed somewhere in the tattoo. Blue dragons signify the vastness of the sky and are thought to be highly protective and magical creatures. At the same time, the red color indicates power, strength, and also magic.

34.  Red Korean Dragon Tattoo Design

This is another Korean tattoo design signifying kindness and welcoming energy. Besides the dragon itself, it has a lot of other Korean symbols around him. In Korean culture, dragons are thought to bring happiness and protection.

35.  Japanese Red And Black Tattoo Design

This is a great tattoo representing Yin and yang, femininity and masculinity, in one word: balance. Both dragons mirror the other, meaning similarity in two different sides—a massive and very detailed tattoo.

36.  Japanese Red Serpent Dragon Tattoo Design

This is a fascinating Japanese dragon tattoo. The body of a dragon is much closer to a snake than usual. It’s a famous Ka-Riu Japanese red dragon, known for its serpent body, and it is a great artistic piece.

37.  Red And Black Tribal Dragon Tattoo Design

This is a distinctive tribal design characterized by the use of geometrical shapes to form a dragon. It’s much more potent and alive with the two colors combined. Tribal dragon tattoos represent power and protection but also grace.

38.  Dragon Wrapped Around A Rose Tattoo Design

Roses signify the most outstanding and highest level of passion. Tattoos with roses often are a reminder of a loved one, and the color can imply whether it’s a deceived loved one or not. Red dragon tattoo combined with roses illustrates a fiery passion but also protection for a loved one. It’s a significant tattoo.

39.  Flying Dragon Tattoo Design

If a dragon is flying, it is believed that it has to fly upwards; if it flies downwards, it’s a bad omen. This is a great and detailed art piece that looks great as a back tattoo. It will bring you good luck and protection.