SymbolHub

Male Symbol (♂)

The male symbol ♂ is Unicode U+2642, the astronomical and biological symbol representing males and the planet Mars. Press Copy to put it on your clipboard, or type it with Alt + 11 on Windows.

Unicode
U+2642
HTML
♂
Windows
Alt + 11

How to type the male symbol (♂)

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

Windows

  1. Hold Alt and type 11 on the numeric keypad. This older code (from code page 437) works in Notepad, Word and most desktop apps.
  2. In Word or Outlook, type 2642 and press Alt + X. Alt + X converts the hex code before the cursor into the character, and back again.
  3. Press Win + . to open the emoji panel, then search for “male”.

Mac

  1. Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search for male and double-click it.
  2. With the Unicode Hex Input keyboard enabled (System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources), hold Option and type 2642.

Linux & ChromeOS

  1. Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type 2642, then press Enter or Space. Works in GTK and IBus apps (GNOME, Firefox, Chrome, LibreOffice) and on ChromeOS.

iPhone & iPad

  1. Open the emoji keyboard and search for “male” to insert ♂️, the colour emoji. For the plain text ♂, copy it from this page.
  2. Copy ♂ from this page, then go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement and add it with a shortcut such as ;male. The shortcut then turns into the symbol as you type, in every app.

Android

  1. In Gboard, tap the emoji key and search for “male” to insert ♂️. For the plain text ♂, copy it from this page.
  2. Copy ♂ here, then open Gboard settings → Dictionary → Personal dictionary and add it with a shortcut.

Microsoft Word

  1. Type 2642, then press Alt + X.
  2. Insert → Symbol → More Symbols. Set “from” to Unicode (hex), type 2642 in “Character code” and click Insert.

Google Docs

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

Excel & Google Sheets

  1. Enter =UNICHAR(9794) 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 male symbol ♂ (Unicode name MALE SIGN) consists of a circle with an arrow pointing diagonally up and to the right. Historically, the glyph served as the astrological and astronomical symbol for the planet Mars, named after the Roman god of war. In classical iconography, the symbol represents the shield and spear of Mars. In historical alchemy and metallurgy, ♂ was also the planetary symbol for the metal iron, which was associated with the red planet’s rust-tinted hue.

The Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus brought ♂ into natural history in 1751, using it to record male flowers and breeding animals in botanical papers. From that foundation, modern biology, veterinary medicine, genetics, and ecology adopted ♂ as the universal marker for male organisms. In genetic pedigree analysis, while male individuals are often drawn as squares on genealogical charts, the ♂ glyph labels genotypes, donor records, and animal research populations worldwide.

Beyond the sciences, ♂ is widely recognized in public signage, sociology, and gender studies as a cultural sign of manhood and masculinity. On digital devices, ♂ renders as a crisp monochrome text character in documents, code, and web design. On mobile operating systems and messaging platforms, appending the variation selector U+FE0F displays the character as the blue male emoji tile ♂️. On Windows keyboards, pressing Alt + 11 on the numeric keypad inserts ♂ immediately.

Common uses

  • Scientific and veterinary records: ♂ adult male panther
  • Genetics research and pedigree labels for male specimens
  • Demographic charts, fitness communities, and men’s health resources
  • Astrological charts and planetary astronomy tables for Mars

Male 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+2642
HTML entity (named)♂
HTML decimal♂
HTML hex♂
CSS contentcontent: "\2642";
JavaScript"\u2642"
Python"\u2642"
Python (by name)"\N{MALE SIGN}"
Java / C#"\u2642"
UTF-8 bytesE2 99 82
UTF-162642
URL encoded%E2%99%82
Alt code (CP437)Alt + 11

♂ 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
Female
U+2640		Female symbol, drawn with a downward cross representing Venus.
Doubled Male
U+26A3		Doubled male sign, representing gay identity and male partnerships.
Male with Stroke and Male and Female
U+26A7		Transgender symbol, uniting male, female, and non-binary attributes.
North East Arrow
U+2197		North-east arrow, a navigational direction without the base circle.

Symbols similar to ♂

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

♂ character properties

Official Unicode name
MALE SIGN
Also known as
male sign, mars symbol, man symbol, gender symbol male
Code point
U+2642
Unicode block
Miscellaneous Symbols (U+2600–U+26FF)
General category
Other symbol (So)
Added in
Unicode 1.1 (1993)
Plane
Basic Multilingual Plane (0)
Emoji
Has an emoji form: ♂️ (add U+FE0F)

Frequently asked questions

What is the origin of the male symbol?

The symbol represents the shield and spear of Mars, Roman god of war. It originated in Hellenistic astrological manuscripts and was linked with the planet Mars and iron before entering biology.

What is the alt code for the male symbol?

On Windows with a numeric keypad, hold Alt and type 11 to produce ♂. In Microsoft Word, type 2642 followed by Alt + X.

What is the alt code for the male symbol?

On Windows, hold Alt and type 11 on the numeric keypad to get ♂. On a laptop without a keypad, copy it from this page or use 2642 then Alt + X in Word.

How do I type the male 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 “male” and double-click it, or copy it from this page.

What is the HTML code for the male symbol?

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

What is the Unicode for the male symbol?

♂ is U+2642, officially named MALE SIGN, in the Miscellaneous Symbols block. It has been part of Unicode since version 1.1 (1993).