What are the most popular Disney tattoos? 

It’s no secret Disney fans are among the most dedicated fans in the world, so it’s also no surprise that many proudly sport Disney tattoos. With so many beloved characters, it may be hard to choose a design, but a new study ranking the most popular Disney tattoos can help narrow the list.

The study conducted by the website Play Like Mum looked at Disney-themed tattoos inspired by both films and specific characters and then ranked the top 40 based on the number of Instagram hashtags. And the winner? Alice in Wonderland with 76,000 Instagram hashtags.

Most Popular Disney Tattoos

1. Alice in Wonderland (76,000 Instagram hashtags) – The 1865 Lewis Carroll novel was already a classic Disney animated movie (1951) before Tim Burton put his signature spin on the story in the 2010 film starring Johnny Depp and Anne Hathaway. There’s no doubt Burton’s version has inspired many tattoo designs, including the mischievous Cheshire Cat and Depp’s Mad Hatter, though as individual characters, the Cheshire Cat ranked at the bottom with only 2,200 Instagram hashtags and the Hatter ranked 22nd with 5,600 Instagram hashtags.
2. Stitch (49,100 Instagram hashtags) – The destructive genetic experiment turned ohana, Stitch, takes second place with his big ears and cute koala-like frame, inspiring almost 50,000 tattoos.
3. The Lion King (36,400 Instagram hashtags) – Rounding out the top three, The Lion King earned over 10,000 more Instagram posts than fourth-place Disney mascot Mickey Mouse, most likely due to the movie’s emotional story of Simba, who reclaims his throne after his ambitious uncle Scar murdered the regal Mufasa. 

In addition to the overall rankings, the study also ranked Disney-themed tattoos by character and by movie. On those lists, the second most popular overall – Stitch – moved into the top spot for most popular Disney character tattoo, while Alice in Wonderland held the crown for most popular tattoo inspired by a Disney movie.

Methodology

The study used List Challenges to compile the list of Disney characters and Time Out to create the list of Disney films. Then, an Instagram search for hashtags relating to each of the most popular characters and movies determined which ones have the most images (the Disney film or character followed by the word “tattoo” was used as the search terms).

Only animated films were included, and characters outside the Disney universe were excluded (such as Zeus, who is part of broader mythology) to avoid results being skewed from non-Disney-related tattoos. Also excluded were minor characters from the original source list, characters that are not immediately recognizable, and hashtags with fewer than 50 results.

The data is accurate from Sept. 19, 2022. Click here for the study.