About the letter S in fancy fonts
S is one continuous double curve, and that makes it one of the most elegant letters in script. ๐ฎ and ๐ข are among the most-used script capitals. Gothic ๐ goes the other way and becomes almost unrecognisable to readers unfamiliar with blackletter.
Copy any style below, or type a word to style every letter at once.
Where the letter S comes from
S comes from the Phoenician shin, which may have represented teeth, drawn as a zigzag. The Greeks turned it on its side as sigma (ฮฃ), and the Romans smoothed the zigzag into the curve we use. Until the late 1700s, printers also used a "long s" (ลฟ) at the start and middle of words, which is why old documents seem to say "Congreลฟs". Lowercase s then became the only form.
How S behaves in different styles
S has no Letterlike exceptions. Every script, gothic and double-struck S is in the Mathematical Alphanumeric Symbols block, so styled words match evenly.
The two things to watch:
- Gothic ๐ and bold fraktur ๐พ look very different from a modern S, and gothic lowercase ๐ฐ can be mistaken for a long s. Use it for short decorative words, not names people need to read.
- Small caps ๊ฑ (Latin Letter Small Capital S, U+A731) was added to Unicode later than most small capitals, so very old phones may show a box. Current iOS and Android display it.
Don't use the dollar sign ($) as a styled S in usernames. It looks cool but breaks search and is read aloud as "dollar" by screen readers.
Unicode characters for S and s
Each style is a separate Unicode character. Names and code points below come from the Unicode Character Database. A dash means Unicode has no character for that combination.
| Style | Capital S | Lowercase s |
|---|---|---|
| Script | ๐ฎ U+1D4AE ยท Mathematical Script Capital S | ๐ U+1D4C8 ยท Mathematical Script Small S |
| Bold script | ๐ข U+1D4E2 ยท Mathematical Bold Script Capital S | ๐ผ U+1D4FC ยท Mathematical Bold Script Small S |
| Fraktur (gothic) | ๐ U+1D516 ยท Mathematical Fraktur Capital S | ๐ฐ U+1D530 ยท Mathematical Fraktur Small S |
| Bold fraktur | ๐พ U+1D57E ยท Mathematical Bold Fraktur Capital S | ๐ U+1D598 ยท Mathematical Bold Fraktur Small S |
| Double-struck | ๐ U+1D54A ยท Mathematical Double-Struck Capital S | ๐ค U+1D564 ยท Mathematical Double-Struck Small S |
| Bold serif | ๐ U+1D412 ยท Mathematical Bold Capital S | ๐ฌ U+1D42C ยท Mathematical Bold Small S |
| Italic serif | ๐ U+1D446 ยท Mathematical Italic Capital S | ๐ U+1D460 ยท Mathematical Italic Small S |
| Bold sans | ๐ฆ U+1D5E6 ยท Mathematical Sans-Serif Bold Capital S | ๐ U+1D600 ยท Mathematical Sans-Serif Bold Small S |
| Monospace | ๐ U+1D682 ยท Mathematical Monospace Capital S | ๐ U+1D69C ยท Mathematical Monospace Small S |
| Circled | โ U+24C8 ยท Circled Latin Capital Letter S | โข U+24E2 ยท Circled Latin Small Letter S |
| Negative circled | ๐ ข U+1F162 ยท Negative Circled Latin Capital Letter S | — |
| Squared | ๐ U+1F142 ยท Squared Latin Capital Letter S | — |
| Negative squared | ๐ U+1F182 ยท Negative Squared Latin Capital Letter S | — |
| Fullwidth | ๏ผณ U+FF33 ยท Fullwidth Latin Capital Letter S | ๏ฝ U+FF53 ยท Fullwidth Latin Small Letter S |
| Small capital | ๊ฑ U+A731 ยท Latin Letter Small Capital S | — |
Where people use a fancy S
- Shops and small businesses. Script ๐ฎ and bold script ๐ข are popular in "shop" and "studio" bios.
- Streetwear and skate brands. Bold fraktur ๐พ and negative squared ๐ look bold and graphic.
- Series and seasons. "๐๐" or "๐๐" works as a heading for episode and season posts.
FAQs about the letter S in different fonts
What is the long s (ลฟ)?
ลฟ (U+017F) is a historical form of lowercase s that fell out of use in the early 1800s. It isn't a fancy s, and readers today often mistake it for an f.
Why does small-caps s show as a box on an old phone?
๊ฑ (U+A731) is in the Latin Extended-D block, added later than most small capitals. Up-to-date devices support it, but older ones may not.
Can I use $ instead of S?
It's best not to in names. $ is a currency symbol, so it breaks search and is read as 'dollar' by screen readers.