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The word tattoo, or tattow in the 18th century, is a loanword from the Samoan word tatau, meaning "to strike". The Oxford English Dictionary offers the etymology of tattoo as "In 18th c. tattaow, tattow. From Polynesian (Samoan, Tahitian, Tongan, etc.) tatau. In Marquesan, tatu." Prior to the importation of the Polynesian word, the practice of tattooing had been described in the West as painting, scarring or staining.The etymology of the physique modification term is not to be confused with the origins of the word for the military drumbeat or efficiency — see military tattoo. In this case, the English word tattoo is derived from the Dutch word taptoe.The initial written reference to the word tattoo (or tatau) seems in the journal of Joseph Banks (24 February 1743 – 19 June 1820), the naturalist aboard explorer James Cook's ship HMS Endeavour: "I shall now mention the way they mark themselves indelibly, every single of them is so marked by their humour or disposition".[5] The word tattoo was brought to Europe by Cook, when he returned in 1769 from his very first voyage to Tahiti and New Zealand. In his narrative of the voyage, he refers to an operation referred to as "tattaw".

Tattoo enthusiasts may refer to tattoos as "ink", "pieces", "skin art", "tattoo art", "tats" or "work"; to the creators as "tattoo artists", "tattooers" or "tattooists"; and to places where they operate as "tattoo shops", "tattoo studios" or "tattoo parlors".Mainstream art galleries hold exhibitions of each conventional and custom tattoo designs, such as Beyond Skin, at the Museum of Croydon. Copyrighted tattoo styles that are mass-produced and sent to tattoo artists are known as "flash", a notable instance of industrial style.[8] Flash sheets are prominently displayed in numerous tattoo parlors for the purpose of providing both inspiration and prepared-created tattoo photos to clients.

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The Japanese word irezumi signifies "insertion of ink" and can mean tattoos making use of tebori, the traditional Japanese hand strategy, a Western-style machine or any approach of tattooing utilizing insertion of ink. The most frequent word used for conventional Japanese tattoo styles is horimono. Japanese may use the word tattoo to imply non-Japanese styles of tattooing.