The phrase “first tattoo parlor” is a bit tricky because tattooing is thousands of years old, while shops or parlors as businesses are much more recent and historians don’t agree on one single “first.” Still, there are a few widely cited “firsts” that people usually mean when they ask this.

Oldest still-running tattoo shop

  • One of the most cited candidates for the world’s oldest continuously operating tattoo shop is Razzouk Tattoo in Jerusalem , tracing its family tattooing tradition back to about the 14th century and serving mainly Christian pilgrims.
  • The Razzouk family originally worked in Egypt, then moved to Jerusalem’s Old City in the 18th century, where the modern parlor is still located today.

“First tattoo parlor” in the modern sense

When people say “first tattoo parlor,” they often mean the first permanent, street-address business dedicated to tattooing.

  • In the United States , one of the earliest known permanent tattoo studios was opened by Martin Hildebrandt in New York City in the mid‑19th century, where he tattooed sailors and Civil War soldiers.
  • Another landmark early shop in the U.S. was Old Town Ink in New York City, established in 1875 , which helped shape professional American tattooing.
  • In Europe , one of the earliest permanent studios was opened by Sutherland Macdonald in London in the late 19th century, regarded as the first professional tattoo studio in the United Kingdom.

So where was the “first” tattoo parlor?

Because tattooing predates written records in many cultures, no historian can point to a single, definite first shop. The most historically grounded answers are:

  • For “oldest still‑operating tattoo business”: Jerusalem (Razzouk Tattoo).
  • For “first permanent studio in the U.S.”: New York City , mid‑1800s (Hildebrandt and later Old Town Ink).
  • For “first professional studio in the UK”: London , with Sutherland Macdonald.

So, if you want one simple line for your post: the first famous, still‑running tattoo parlor is usually said to be in Jerusalem’s Old City (Razzouk Tattoo) , while the first clearly documented permanent U.S. tattoo studio was in New York City.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.