Melanie Griffith Shows Off Tattoo to Replace Antonio Banderas Ink

Melanie Griffith wears her heart on her sleeve in expressing her love -- just ask Antonio Banderas -- and now, she's got 4 new names in ink to show off her feelings.

The actress was sleeveless in L.A. Monday, revealing the fairly-new tattoo with an interesting location considering she once bore the name of her ex-husband, AB, in the exact same spot.

Now, she's completely scrubbed ANTONIO from her shoulder, replacing it with her kids' names.

The names are intersecting one another in an intricate design -- they're Dakota, Stella, Alexander and Jesse. One of those, Stella, is a child she shares with Antonio ... Alex and Dakota are kids of hers from other relationships -- and Jesse's her stepchild.

Melanie actually started the process of getting rid of her Antonio tat a few years ago -- a process she started after they'd split in 2014 -- and for a while ... her arm was completely tattoo-free.

It seems between then and now, though, she's had inspiration to get tatted anew.

BTW, this one is much more discreet and hardly visible, really. But something tells us she won't be getting rid of it anytime soon -- these are names that are around for the long haul.