Mothers are the backbone of society. They care for your basic needs, offer advice and are there when you need them. Although we love and appreciate mothers, we don’t always give them the credit they deserve—and mom deserves a lot of credit. After all, she’s the one who made us, us.
This Mother’s Day, show her and other motherly figures how much you care. Whether it’s your grandma, aunt, niece or friend, celebrate with these 70 Mother’s Day quotes that express the beauty and magic of motherhood.
Happy Mother’s Day Quotes to Express Appreciation for All She’s Done
Using a special “Happy Mother’s Day” quote can help show your appreciation for your mother or another mother figure in your life. You can use it in a card, as the start or end to a letter, in a social media post, or in another way to remind her how much she means to you. There are many quotes about mothers voiced by notable people, ranging from musical artists to political figures. Browse our list to find one that expresses your feelings toward mom.
- “God could not be everywhere, and, therefore, he made mothers.” —Rudyard Kipling
- “I believe the choice to become a mother is the choice to become one of the greatest spiritual teachers there is.” —Oprah Winfrey
- “I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.” —Abraham Lincoln
- “My mother is everything to me. She’s my anchor, she’s the person I go to when I need to talk to someone. She is an amazing woman.” —Demi Lovato
- “In the heavens above, the angels, whispering to one another, can find, among their burning terms of love, none so devotional as that of ‘Mother.’” —Edgar Allan Poe
- “Over the years, I learned so much from Mom. She taught me about the importance of home and history and family and tradition.” —Martha Stewart
- “Mothers were the only ones you could depend on to tell the whole, unvarnished truth.” —Margaret Dilloway
- “My mother was very strong about my doing well in school and living up to my potential. Two things were important to her and she repeated them endlessly. One was to ‘be a lady,’ and that meant conduct yourself civilly, don’t let emotions like anger or envy get in your way. And the other was to be independent, which was an unusual message for mothers of that time to be giving their daughters.” —Ruth Bader Ginsburg, My Own Words
- “My doctor told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother.” —Wilma Rudolph
- “You can feel when your mom’s proud of you, you can feel the love, and know she doesn’t go away.” —Jimmy Fallon
Related: 75 Joy Quotes to Fill Your Day
Quotes About Mothers for a Touching Mother’s Day Message
A touching message for Mother’s Day can help convey the deep emotions for all mom has done in your life. The years she sacrificed and spent caring for you, the lessons she taught you along the way and every unspoken way she encouraged you through hard times—all these add up to a lifetime of love. Share one of these heart-touching Mother’s Day quotes to celebrate all she is.
- “When a mother sees her child in danger, she is literally capable of anything. Mothers have lifted cars off of their children and destroyed entire dynasties. A mother’s love is the strongest energy known to man.” —Jamie McGuire
- “I loved my mother like I love the moon—for just existing. Despite all her scars and changes, despite her cyclical darkness, she couldn’t help but mirror the light of life itself.” —Robin Brown, Glitter Saints
- “There is no greater good in all the world than motherhood. The influence of a mother in the lives of her children is beyond calculation.” —James E. Faust
- A mother is the truest friend we have. When trials heavy and sudden fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.” —Washington Irving
- “Mothers and their children are in a category all their own. There’s no bond so strong in the entire world, no love so instantaneous and forgiving.” —Gail Tsukiyama
- “I looked on child rearing not only as a work of love and duty, but as a profession that was fully as interesting and challenging as any honorable profession in the world.” —Rose Kennedy
- “A mother’s arms are more comforting than anyone else’s.” —Princess Diana
- “A mother is not a person to lean on but a person to make leaning unnecessary.” —Dorothy Canfield Fisher
- “Womanliness means only motherhood. All love begins and ends there.” —Robert Browning
- “To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power. Or the climbing, falling colors of a rainbow.” —Maya Angelou
- “A mother is the one who fills your heart in the first place.” —Amy Tan, Saving Fish From Drowning
Related: 60 Loving Quotes About Family
Some of the Best Mother’s Day Quotes for All the Ladies
Relationships with mothers can be complicated. Maybe some of these quotes work for your own mom, or maybe there is another figure in your life you want to share them with. You might also want to say “Happy Mother’s Day” to a friend or other person in your life who you know is navigating the ups and downs of motherhood. You can use these inspiring Mother’s Day quotes to say thank you or wish any mom you know a fantastic day and make her smile.
- “No one is ever quite ready; everyone is always caught off guard. Parenthood chooses you. And you open your eyes, look at what you’ve got, say ‘Oh, my gosh,’ and recognize that of all the balls there ever were, this is the one you should not drop. It’s not a question of choice.” —Marisa de los Santos
- “It’s the job that I take most seriously in my life and I think it’s the hardest job.” —Debra Messing
- “I tell my kids, ‘I am thinking about you every other minute of my day.’” —Michelle Obama
- “I can pinpoint that as the single happiest moment of my life, because I realized then that Mom would always have my back. It made me feel giant. I raced back down the concrete ramp, faster than I ever had before, so fast I should have fallen, but I didn’t fall, because Mom was in the world.” —Maria Semple, Where’d You Go, Bernadette
- “I like my body so much better after I had kids. Is that a crazy thing to say? I’m more womanly. I feel sexier.” —Reese Witherspoon
- “The best part of having two babies at once, a son and a daughter, is mostly everything. You’re just having that feeling of love inside you all the time and motherhood is such a fulfilling place to be. I kind of wish it would have happened to me earlier in my life.” —Jennifer Lopez
- “I don’t know if I feel like a bad mom, but at the end of the day I’m always plagued with, ‘Did I do enough? Should I go in a different direction?’ But I also know that my entire life revolves around [my son] Louis.” —Sandra Bullock
- “They’ve been safe inside your belly for almost 10 months, and now they’re in your arms. Intuition kicks in, where you will do anything for them and you have all the tools inside of you to take care of them.” —Hilary Duff
- “A mother’s love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path.” —Agatha Christie, The Hound of Death and Other Stories
Unique Things to Say to Your Mom on Mother’s Day
If you’re looking for things to say to your mom on Mother’s Day, you might want to share something truly unique. You can use one of the simple Mother’s Day quotes below, which are original sayings written by SUCCESS® contributors, or be inspired to come up with your own heartfelt or funny message. Think about your mom’s personality, what has meant the most to you over your life and what might help her feel truly cherished to choose what to say on Mother’s Day.
- “Mom spelled backwards is still mom.”
- “I love you, so I got you your favorite flower: Mums.”
- “It took a lot of courage to raise me. It still does.”
- “You don’t need to earn the title ‘World’s Best Mom.’ You’ve been one since the day I was born.”
- “Mom, you’re the chicken to my waffle.”
- “Mom, you’re the hidden strength behind everything I do. Thank you for encouraging me to follow my dreams.”
- “Saying ‘thank you’ or ‘I love you’ doesn’t seem to be enough for all the lessons you taught me, the wounds you helped heal and the sacrifices you’ve made. Thank you for giving me more than words can express, Mom.”
- “You have helped me see all the beautiful colors of the world and shaped the person I’ve become. There is nothing more powerful than being a mom. This Mother’s Day, I just want to say thank you for all you’ve done.”
- “From diapers to heartbreaks, you’ve been there every step of the way. Thank you, Mom.”
- “When I was little, you would catch me when I fell. Then you taught me what to do when there was no one there to catch me. Thank you for helping me learn to find my own way in this world, Mom.”
- “Mom, thank you for believing in me—and teaching me how to believe in myself. Happy Mother’s Day.”
Short & Simple Mother’s Day Quotes
Short Mother’s Day quotes can still have impact and meaning. If you’re looking for a sweet, simple and short quote to share this May with your mom, try one of these to express your love and appreciation.
- “My mom is cool and my mom will treat you right.” —Sam Hyde
- “Perhaps it takes courage to raise children.” —John Steinbeck, East of Eden
- “The best place to cry is in a mother’s arms.” —Jodi Picoult, House Rules
- “Moms are as relentless as the tides.” —Steve Rushin
- “I see myself as Mom first. I’m so lucky to have that role in life.” —Angelina Jolie
- “When you’re in the thick of raising your kids by yourself, you tend to keep a running list of everything you think you’re doing wrong.” —Connie Schultz
- “The phrase ‘working mother’ is redundant.” —Jane Sellman
- “A mother is one to whom you hurry when you are troubled.” —Emily Dickinson
- “If I have done anything in life worth attention, I feel sure that I inherited the disposition from my mother.” —Booker T. Washington
Witty Mother’s Day Quotes
Some moms have a great sense of humor and can really appreciate the power of a few witty Mother’s Day quotes. Does your mom love to laugh and find the humor in life’s ups and downs? Sometimes the lighthearted and funny sentiments make the best Mother’s Day quotes. These can also make great options to share on Facebook or Instagram, too.
- “Even as a small child, I understood that women had secrets, and that some of these were only to be told to daughters.” —Alice Hoffman, The Dovekeepers
- “Being a mom has made me so tired. And so happy.” —Tina Fey
- “Being a mother is an attitude, not a biological relation.” —Robert A. Heinlein, Have Space Suit—Will Travel
- “A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.” —Sophia Loren
- “It has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. My mom says some days are like that.” —Judith Viorst
- “I’m a guy and I love my mom. So shoot me. I’m man enough to hug her without feeling like a mama’s boy.” ―Nyrae Dawn, What a Boy Wants
- “I’m still amazed at how my mother emerged from her lonely early life as such an affectionate and levelheaded woman.” —Hillary Clinton
- “Everybody wants to save the Earth; nobody wants to help Mom do the dishes.” —P.J. O’Rourke, All the Trouble in the World
- “It’s a funny thing about mothers and fathers. Even when their own child is the most disgusting little blister you could ever imagine, they still think that he or she is wonderful.” —Roald Dahl, Matilda
- “There is no influence so powerful as that of the mother.” —Sarah Josepha Hale
- “If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?” —Milton Berle
- “It is not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it.” —Dorothy Zbornak, The Golden Girls
Beautiful & Inspiring Mother’s Day Sayings
There is incredible joy and beauty in being a mom—and the love of a mother is unlike anything else in life. These beautiful sayings can be used as appreciation Mother’s Day quotes that help express all they’ve done and they are in a fresh way.
- “A mother’s arms are made of tenderness, and children sleep soundly in them.” —Victor Hugo, Les Misérables
- “But kids don’t stay with you if you do it right. It’s the one job where, the better you are, the more surely you won’t be needed in the long run.” —Barbara Kingsolver, Pigs in Heaven
- “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster,’ I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers—so many caring people in this world.” —Fred Rogers
- “Whatever else is unsure in this stinking dunghill of a world, a mother’s love is not.” —James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
- “I am sure that if the mothers of various nations could meet, there would be no more wars.” —E. M. Forster, Howards End
- “To her whose heart is my heart’s quiet home, to my first love, my mother, on whose knee I learnt love-lore that is not troublesome.” —Christina Rossetti, “Sonnets are Full of Love”
- “I realized when you look at your mother, you are looking at the purest love you will ever know.” —Mitch Albom, For One More Day
- “The one constant, faithful, inviolable, holy love of loves, the love of your life, is not your wife or your lover—it’s your mother.” —Sandra Cisneros
Celebrate the Mothers in Your Life
However you choose to honor Mother’s Day, think about how you can make this person feel special. Whether you use any of the quotes on a card or to reflect on how special mother figures are, the thought you put into showing you care will go a long way.
Photo by Ground Picture/Shutterstock.
