At sign

A lower-case a enclosed by a curling stroke, used in email addresses and handles.

Also known as: At symbol, Commercial at, Email sign, Monkey tail

Keyboard & punctuationEveryday & digitalStandard profile

Meanings

The at sign separates a user name from a domain in email addresses and introduces handles on social platforms. It was a commercial and accounting mark for centuries before Ray Tomlinson chose it for network mail in 1971.

Common modern usageVerified fact
Separates the user name from the host in an email address, as in name@example.com.
Contexts: Software
Common modern usageCommon usage
Introduces a user handle or directs a message at someone on social platforms and in chat.
Contexts: Software
Historically documentedDocumented interpretation
Was long a commercial mark meaning 'at the rate of' in invoices and ledgers, and was chosen for network mail in 1971 precisely because it was otherwise unused in names.
Pre-modern commerce; adopted for email in 1971 · Contexts: Software
Culturally establishedCommon usage
Has vivid names in many languages that describe its shape rather than its function — variations on 'monkey tail', 'elephant's trunk', 'snail' and 'little mouse'.
Contexts: Software

Visual description

A lower-case letter a surrounded by a stroke curling clockwise around it.

Symmetry: none
Orientation: upright

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is defined by a current official standard.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is defined by a current official standard.

Sources

At sign
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-30
Tertiary reference. Used for widely-agreed identity and origin summary, not for contested detail or exact dates.
Unicode Code Chart: Basic Latin (U+0000–U+007F)
The Unicode Consortium · retrieved 2026-07-30
Authoritative for the character's code point, name and block only. Unicode assigns identity; it does not define what a symbol means in use.

Last reviewed 2026-07-30

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Punctuation and keyboard marks

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Meanings

Common modern usageVerified fact

Separates the user name from the host in an email address, as in name@example.com.

Contexts: Software

Common modern usageCommon usage

Introduces a user handle or directs a message at someone on social platforms and in chat.

Contexts: Software

Historically documentedDocumented interpretation

Was long a commercial mark meaning 'at the rate of' in invoices and ledgers, and was chosen for network mail in 1971 precisely because it was otherwise unused in names.

Pre-modern commerce; adopted for email in 1971 · Contexts: Software

Culturally establishedCommon usage

Has vivid names in many languages that describe its shape rather than its function — variations on 'monkey tail', 'elephant's trunk', 'snail' and 'little mouse'.

Contexts: Software

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is defined by a current official standard.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is defined by a current official standard.

Sources

At sign
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-30
Tertiary reference. Used for widely-agreed identity and origin summary, not for contested detail or exact dates.
Unicode Code Chart: Basic Latin (U+0000–U+007F)
The Unicode Consortium · retrieved 2026-07-30
Authoritative for the character's code point, name and block only. Unicode assigns identity; it does not define what a symbol means in use.

Last reviewed 2026-07-30