---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You know, I'd get a tattoo with your name…"
description: "\"You know, I'd get a tattoo with your name on it. Only, I want you to have the freedom to change your name if you want to.\" — David Levithan"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/david-levithan-67_freedom_you-know-i-d-get-a-tattoo-with-your-name_57331.jpg"
---

#  You know, I'd get a tattoo with your name on it. Only, I…

![“You know, I'd get a tattoo with your name on it. Only, I want you to have the freedom to change your name if you want to.” quote by David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/david-levithan-67_freedom_you-know-i-d-get-a-tattoo-with-your-name_57331.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/david-levithan-67_freedom_you-know-i-d-get-a-tattoo-with-your-name_57331.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/david-levithan-67_freedom_you-know-i-d-get-a-tattoo-with-your-name_57331.jpg)

> “You know, I'd get a tattoo with your name on it. Only, I want you to have the freedom to change your name if you want to.”

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A declaration of love that balances deep commitment with respect for personal autonomy, allowing the beloved to evolve without feeling trapped.

**In simple terms:** Love with freedom

Key Takeaway

Commitment without possession

Themes

love autonomy identity commitment personal growth

Mood

affectionate thoughtful hopeful

Type

romantic philosophical

When to use this quote

- romantic confession
- gift giving
- relationship milestone
- personal reassurance

Key Concepts

tattoo symbolism relationship dynamics individual freedom

Practical Applications

- personalized jewelry
- relationship counseling

Questions to Reflect On

- How does this view of love differ from traditional possession?
- What boundaries does it set for personal change?

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Tattoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tattoo/)

## Related quotes

> [“You grabbed my hand and twirled me around, two sidewalk sweethearts. Then, very earnestly, you stopped, leaned over, and whispered, "You know, I'd get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-grabbed-my-hand-and-twirled-me-around-two-sidewalk-sweethearts/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [~Love~This is the kind of dragon tattoo I want~](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/im-nothing/love-this-is-the-kind-of-dragon-tattoo-i-want/)

Im Nothing

> [Tattoo I want 2 get](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-crystal-maree-sawyer-whitmore/tattoo-i-want-2-get/)

Corey Crystal Maree Sawyer Whitmore

> [“I want to see this video," I say. "Seriously?" asks Tattoo. "Want popcorn too?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-ee/i-want-to-see-this-video-i-say-seriously-asks-tattoo-want-popcorn-too/)

[Susan Ee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-ee/)

> [“You don’t know how much I’ve thought about this tattoo. I want to memorize it so that every time I close my eyes I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-carmack/you-don-t-know-how-much-i-ve-thought-about-this-tattoo-i-want-to/)

[Cora Carmack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-carmack/)

> [The other tattoo I want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devilgirllovesu/the-other-tattoo-i-want/)

DevilgirlLovesU

> ["I want you to spend the night," you said. And it was definitely your phrasing that ensured it. If you had said, "Let's have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-want-you-to-spend-the-night-you-said-and-it-was-definitely-your/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [When I say, "Be my lover", I don't mean, "Let's have an affair." I don't mean "Sleep with me." I don't mean, "Be my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/when-i-say-be-my-lover-i-don-t-mean-let-s-have-an-affair-i-don-t-mean/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [I want this world small enough for the two of us I want you to think of me that way I want this world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-want-this-world-small-enough-for-the-two-of-us-i-want-you-to-think/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“What naive garbage. People don't want freedom anymore--even those to whom freedom is a kind of religion are afraid of it, like trembling acolytes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-willow-wilson/what-naive-garbage-people-don-t-want-freedom-anymore-even-those-to/)

[G. Willow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-willow-wilson/)

> [“Every witch has a goal before they start to learn. Some want them for healing purposes, some for awakening their hidden purposes in life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alisonswan/every-witch-has-a-goal-before-they-start-to-learn-some-want-them-for/)

[Alisonswan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alisonswan/)

> [We want our children to become who they are- and a developed person is, above all, free. But freedom as we define it doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-millman/we-want-our-children-to-become-who-they-are-and-a-developed-person-is/)

Gregory Millman

> [“What is freedom? Is it moving through a room unhindered, in any direction you want, fast or slow? Or is it being able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-davys/what-is-freedom-is-it-moving-through-a-room-unhindered-in-any/)

Tim Davys

> [You don't disarm any white community by confining yourself to any particular method. If you want freedom, then you should get freedom like Patrick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/you-don-t-disarm-any-white-community-by-confining-yourself-to-any/)

[Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/)

> [“The choice is ours. If we want to be sure to experience this vision by sight hereafter, we must know it by faith now.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-j-keller/the-choice-is-ours-if-we-want-to-be-sure-to-experience-this-vision-by/)

[Timothy J. Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-j-keller/)

## More by David Levithan

> [“When you jump, all you're going to do is fall. But leaping? Leaping is when you think there's something on the other side.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/when-you-jump-all-you-re-going-to-do-is-fall-but-leaping-leaping-is/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“The past and the future are what's complicated. It's the present that's simple. And the simplicity is the sensation of it being just her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-past-and-the-future-are-what-s-complicated-it-s-the-present-that/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“I hate the way you talk to me And the way you cut your hair I hate the way you drive my car I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-hate-the-way-you-talk-to-me-and-the-way-you-cut-your-hair-i-hate/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [You could be the leaf that never falls from the tree you could be the sun that never leaves the sky this might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-could-be-the-leaf-that-never-falls-from-the-tree-you-could-be-the/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“Patrick: Is she worth the trouble? Cameron: I thought she was- Patrick: Either she is, or she isn't. So give it a shot, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/patrick-is-she-worth-the-trouble-cameron-i-thought-she-was-patrick/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“We saw our friends die. But we also see our friends live. So many of them live, and we often toast their long and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/we-saw-our-friends-die-but-we-also-see-our-friends-live-so-many-of/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [maybe tonight you're scared of falling, and maybe there's somebody here or somewhere else you're thinking about, worrying over, fretting over, trying to figure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/maybe-tonight-you-re-scared-of-falling-and-maybe-there-s-somebody/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“You never told me what you saw in him, not convincingly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-never-told-me-what-you-saw-in-him-not-convincingly/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“i nod to the other will grayson, up onstage. he nods to me. we have something between us, him and me. but the truth?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-nod-to-the-other-will-grayson-up-onstage-he-nods-to-me-we-have/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [The terrorists-those nineteen people, with hundreds or maybe thousands behind them-did the worst thing you can possibly imagine. But tens of millions people did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-terrorists-those-nineteen-people-with-hundreds-or-maybe-thousands/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [But I still has enough longing for that concept that I didn't want to dispel it completely. Meaning: I didn't want to tell Lily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/but-i-still-has-enough-longing-for-that-concept-that-i-didn-t-want-to/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“When you break someone's heart, you also break yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/when-you-break-someone-s-heart-you-also-break-yours/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“Because toward the end all the words started leaving. Except for the ones that had to lock up at the end of the night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/because-toward-the-end-all-the-words-started-leaving-except-for-the/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“ misgivings , n . Last night, I got up the courage to ask you if you regretted us. "There are things I miss,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/misgivings-n-last-night-i-got-up-the-courage-to-ask-you-if-you/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“Saving others is always more important than saving yourself. It has to be, or none of us would do any good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/saving-others-is-always-more-important-than-saving-yourself-it-has-to/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

[Explore all 1,648 David Levithan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

## More Freedom quotes

> [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/)

[Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/)

> [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/)

[Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/)

> [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/)

[Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/)

> [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/)

[Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/)

> [We live in the greatest country in the world because of the veterans who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom and the security…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-husted/we-live-in-the-greatest-country-in-the-world-because-of-the-veterans/)

[Jon Husted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-husted/)

> [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/)

[Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/)

> [“No one was more surprised than I to realize that my newfound freedom had been purchased by giving up on eternity and settling for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-jessop/no-one-was-more-surprised-than-i-to-realize-that-my-newfound-freedom/)

[Carolyn Jessop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-jessop/)

> [“In a world of fixed future, there can be no right or wrong. Right and wrong demand freedom of choice, but if each action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-a-world-of-fixed-future-there-can-be-no-right-or-wrong-right-and/)

[Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/)

> [“In any case, white people, who had robbed black people of their liberty and who profited by this theft every hour that they lived,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-any-case-white-people-who-had-robbed-black-people-of-their-liberty/)

[James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/)

> [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/)

[Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/)

> [“I have to blame myself for not finding any way of reaching him, but I can't feel that either Ruth or I had anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/i-have-to-blame-myself-for-not-finding-any-way-of-reaching-him-but-i/)

[Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/)

> [“It breaks my heart. Better than your words, your eye tells me all your peril. You are not yet free, you still search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-breaks-my-heart-better-than-your-words-your-eye-tells-me-all-your/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/)

[Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/)

> [I don't want to be famous famous. I'm happy on the second tier, where I have autonomy on a professional level but I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-reece/i-don-t-want-to-be-famous-famous-i-m-happy-on-the-second-tier-where-i/)

[Gabrielle Reece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-reece/)

[Browse all 30,110 Freedom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "You know, I'd get a tattoo with your name on it. Only, I want you to have the freedom to change your name if you want to.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "David Levithan"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-know-i-d-get-a-tattoo-with-your-name-on-it-only-i-want-you-to/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Freedom"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-know-i-d-get-a-tattoo-with-your-name-on-it-only-i-want-you-to/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/david-levithan-67_freedom_you-know-i-d-get-a-tattoo-with-your-name_57331.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/david-levithan-67_freedom_you-know-i-d-get-a-tattoo-with-your-name_57331.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/david-levithan-67_freedom_you-know-i-d-get-a-tattoo-with-your-name_57331.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“You know, I'd get a tattoo with your name on it. Only, I want you to have the freedom to change your name if…” — David Levithan",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "David Levithan",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "You know, I'd get a tattoo...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-know-i-d-get-a-tattoo-with-your-name-on-it-only-i-want-you-to/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-know-i-d-get-a-tattoo-with-your-name-on-it-only-i-want-you-to/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
