The Latin cross (✝) — the central symbol of Christianity — along with the Orthodox, shadowed, and Maltese crosses it is grouped with, and the dagger † and X marks it is often mistaken for. Click any symbol to copy it instantly.
The cross symbol (✝, Unicode U+271D LATIN CROSS) is the best-known symbol of Christianity: an upright cross with a longer lower arm, the shape traditionally tied to the crucifixion. Unicode places it in the Dingbats block alongside a family of related crosses, and with an emoji variation selector it renders as the ✝️ cross emoji. It is a different character from the multiplication and cancellation X marks (✕ ✗) and from the typographic dagger (†), even though the four are frequently swapped for one another.
The plain-text Latin cross and its color emoji version.
Cross variants used across Christian traditions, each a distinct Unicode character.
These look cross-like but carry unrelated meanings — none is the Christian cross.
The cross became the dominant symbol of Christianity only gradually. For the first few centuries, early Christians more often used the ichthys (fish), the anchor, or the Chi-Rho monogram; the cross came to the fore from around the 4th century, after the emperor Constantine and the end of crucifixion as a Roman punishment made the image less a sign of execution and more one of faith. The specific form at U+271D, with a longer vertical member below the crossbar, is the crux immissa or Latin cross — distinct from the equal-armed Greek cross (✚).
Unicode encodes a whole family of crosses. The Latin cross ✝ (U+271D), shadowed cross ✞ (U+271E), outlined cross ✟ (U+271F), and Maltese cross ✠ (U+2720) sit together in the Dingbats block, while the Orthodox cross ☦ (U+2626) and the West and East Syriac crosses ♰ ♱ (U+2670–U+2671) live among the Miscellaneous Symbols. Because ✝ visually resembles the dagger † (U+2020) — a punctuation mark used for footnotes and, in some writing, to mark that a person has died — the two are often confused, but they are unrelated characters from different blocks.
| Platform / Tool | Method |
|---|---|
| Windows (Word / Unicode input) | Type 271D, then press Alt+X |
| Mac | Character Viewer (Cmd+Ctrl+Space), search "latin cross" |
| iOS / Android | Emoji keyboard, search "cross" to insert ✝️ |
| HTML | ✝ or ✝ |
CSS content | content: "\271D" |
✝ (U+271D) is the Latin cross, a religious symbol; † (U+2020) is the dagger, a typographic mark used for footnotes and, historically, to note that someone has died. They look similar but are different characters with different purposes.
No. The X marks ✕ (U+2715) and ✗ (U+2717) mean multiplication or rejection. The Latin cross ✝ is the Christian symbol and is a separate character — our cross and X symbols page covers the X marks.
Type or paste ✝ and add an emoji variation selector, or search for cross in your phone's emoji keyboard to insert ✝️. Many platforms render it in red or with a shadow.
Yes — Unicode includes the Orthodox cross ☦, Maltese cross ✠, the shadowed ✞ and outlined ✟ Latin crosses, and the West and East Syriac crosses ♰ ♱, among others. This page lists the common ones.
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The ✕ and ✗ cancellation marks the Latin cross is confused with.