The Celtic knot — a pattern of interlocking lines — is centuries old, carved into ancient stones all over Ireland. But that tattoo on your biceps? Like the fortune cookie, American born and bred.

The thousand-year-old image of the Celtic Knot, characterized by thick interlocking lines that looks like rope, has quickly become the most common tattoo for wide-eyed Irish-Americans. NPR’s Ari ...

The Celtic knot tattoo seems to have started on the American West Coast in the 1970s and '80s, part of a trend in tattooing called blackwork: big, black geometric designs — much bolder than the ...