Eagle tattoos are a typically male tattoo design that crosses over a significant number of tattoo genres, and the influence of the eagle in American tattooing cannot be underestimated. A significant number of military and patriotic service tattoos prominently feature eagles.

The eagle is a very ancient symbol, generally regarded as solar. For the Greeks and Persians the eagle was sacred to the Sun; with the Egyptians, under the name of Ah, to Horus, and the Kopts worshipped the eagle under the name of Ahom. It was regarded as the sacred emblem of Zeus by the Greeks, and as that of the highest god by the Druids.

The Eagle has a military history spanning thousands of years. As an emblem, it flew over battle grounds throughout Europe. Roman legions marched under the banner of the Silver Eagle with outstretched wings. In the 9th Century, the emperor Charlemagne made the double-headed Eagle his emblem, one head facing to the German Empire, the other facing to the Holy Roman Empire. Unity under Christian rule! The Eagle was the symbol of John the Evangelist, a metaphor for vigilance and alertness, and therefore adopted by the Crusaders as a Christian symbol of the victory of light over darkness. In more recent European wars, the Teutonic Eagle was fearful emblem of Nazi Germany.