SymbolHub

Hashtag Symbol (#)

The hashtag symbol # is Unicode U+0023, the number sign and hash symbol widely used for social media tagging, numbers, and hex colours. Press Copy to put it on your clipboard.

Unicode
U+0023
HTML
#
Word
0023 Alt+X

How to type the hashtag symbol (#)

The quickest way is to press Copy above and paste. To type # yourself, use the method for your device below.

Windows

  1. In Word or Outlook, type 0023 and press Alt + X. Alt + X converts the hex code before the cursor into the character, and back again.
  2. Press Win + R, type charmap and press Enter. Tick “Advanced view”, search for Number Sign, then Select and Copy. Character Map is built into every version of Windows.

Mac

  1. Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search for hashtag and double-click it.
  2. With the Unicode Hex Input keyboard enabled (System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources), hold Option and type 0023.

Linux & ChromeOS

  1. Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type 23, then press Enter or Space. Works in GTK and IBus apps (GNOME, Firefox, Chrome, LibreOffice) and on ChromeOS.

iPhone & iPad

  1. Copy # from this page, then go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement and add it with a shortcut such as ;hash. The shortcut then turns into the symbol as you type, in every app.

Android

  1. Copy # here, then open Gboard settings → Dictionary → Personal dictionary and add it with a shortcut.

Microsoft Word

  1. Type 0023, then press Alt + X.
  2. Insert → Symbol → More Symbols. Set “from” to Unicode (hex), type 0023 in “Character code” and click Insert.

Google Docs

  1. Insert → Special characters, then search for “hashtag” or draw it in the box.

Excel & Google Sheets

  1. Enter =UNICHAR(35) in a cell. It works in Excel 2013 and later and in Google Sheets.

HTML

  1. Write # or # in your HTML.

What does # mean?

The # symbol, titled NUMBER SIGN in Unicode (U+0023), carries several distinct names across English-speaking cultures. In North America, it was historically known as the "pound sign" from its use as an abbreviation for pounds of weight (lb), while in Britain and the Commonwealth it is universally known as the "hash". In 2007, open-source technologist Chris Messina proposed using the hash symbol on Twitter (now X) to create user-organised topic channels, giving birth to the modern "hashtag" that now powers content tagging and viral trending topics across global social media. In software development, # denotes CSS hex colour codes (such as #FF0000 for red), identifies document anchor IDs in web URLs, and marks comments in Python, Ruby, and Bash. Compare it with the at sign @, the asterisk *, and the ampersand & in our keyboard symbols catalogue.

Common uses

  • Social media hashtags: grouping posts by topic or trend on platforms like Instagram, X, TikTok, and LinkedIn
  • Numerical notation: preceding numbers as shorthand for "number" in American English (e.g., #1 Best Seller)
  • Web development: prefixing hexadecimal colour codes in CSS (e.g., #ffffff) and fragment identifiers in URLs
  • Programming comments: initiating single-line comments in scripting languages including Python, Bash, Ruby, and Perl

Hashtag Symbol codes for HTML, CSS and programming

Every code below produces #. Use the HTML entity in web pages, the CSS escape in content, and the escape sequence in source code.

Unicode code pointU+0023
HTML entity (named)#
HTML decimal#
HTML hex#
CSS contentcontent: "\23";
JavaScript"\u0023"
Python"\u0023"
Python (by name)"\N{NUMBER SIGN}"
Java / C#"\u0023"
UTF-8 bytes23
UTF-160023
URL encoded%23

# vs look-alike characters

These characters look similar to # but have a different meaning and code. Pasting the wrong one can break search, sorting and screen readers.

CharNameWhen to use it
Music Sharp
U+266F		Music sharp sign, which features slanted horizontal strokes and vertical upright bars.
Viewdata Square
U+2317		Viewdata square, a telephone keypad graphic standard.
Small Number
U+FE5F		Small number sign, a reduced-size variation used in East Asian computing.
Fullwidth Number
U+FF03		Fullwidth number sign, standard in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean character sets.

Symbols similar to #

Click to copy, or open a symbol for its codes. See the full number symbols collection.

  • Details
  • Details

# character properties

Official Unicode name
NUMBER SIGN
Also known as
number sign, hash symbol, pound sign, octothorpe, sharp symbol, pound key
Code point
U+0023
Unicode block
Basic Latin (U+0000–U+007F)
General category
Other punctuation (Po)
Added in
Unicode 1.1 (1993)
Plane
Basic Multilingual Plane (0)
Emoji
No, it is a text symbol

Frequently asked questions

Why is # called the "pound sign" in the United States?

In nineteenth-century American commerce, the symbol evolved from a cursive abbreviation for the Latin *libra pondo* (pound weight). Scribes wrote "lb" with a horizontal strike-through line; hurried handwriting merged the letters into the cross-hatch # mark.

What is an "octothorpe"?

In the 1960s, Bell Labs engineers who added the # key to touch-tone telephone keypads coined the whimsical name "octothorpe", combining "octo-" (referring to the symbol's eight points) with "thorpe" (possibly honouring athlete Jim Thorpe).

What is the alt code for the hashtag symbol?

On Windows, hold Alt and type 35 on the numeric keypad to get #. On a laptop without a keypad, copy it from this page or use 0023 then Alt + X in Word.

How do I type the hashtag symbol on a Mac?

There is no single Option shortcut for # on the US layout. Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search for “hashtag” and double-click it, or copy it from this page.

What is the HTML code for the hashtag symbol?

Use the named entity # or the numeric reference # (hex #). All three display # in every browser.

What is the Unicode for the hashtag symbol?

# is U+0023, officially named NUMBER SIGN, in the Basic Latin block. It has been part of Unicode since version 1.1 (1993).