What is the dagger symbol used for?

The dagger (†), also called an obelisk, is a footnote marker used after the asterisk when a page needs a second note. It also appears next to a name to indicate a death date in genealogy charts, biographies, and obituaries.

What is the Unicode code point for the dagger?

The dagger sign is U+2020 in Unicode, part of the General Punctuation block.

How do I type the dagger on a Mac?

Press Option + T on a Mac keyboard to type † directly.

How do I type the dagger on Windows?

Hold Alt and type 0134 on the numeric keypad, with Num Lock on.

What is the HTML entity for the dagger?

Use &dagger; or the numeric entity † to render † in HTML.

What order do footnote symbols follow?

The traditional sequence is asterisk (*), dagger (†), double dagger (‡), then section sign (§), repeating doubled (**, ††, ‡‡) if more notes are needed on the same page.

Is the dagger the same as the double dagger?

No. The dagger (†) has a single crossbar and marks the first extra footnote after the asterisk. The double dagger (‡) has two crossbars and marks the next one after that. They are different Unicode characters.

Dagger Symbol

Name: Dagger Symbol
Availability: InStock
Author: Nham Vu

Click the dagger (†) to copy it, or grab its Unicode, HTML entity, and OS keyboard shortcut.

Dagger Symbol

†

Codes & Entities

Unicode

U+2020

HTML entity (named)

&dagger;

HTML entity (numeric)

†

CSS content value

content: '\2020';

JavaScript escape

†

LaTeX (text mode)

\dag

Keyboard Shortcut

Copied!

Summary

Click the dagger (†) to copy it, or grab its Unicode, HTML entity, and OS keyboard shortcut.

How it works

The dagger (†) is shown at large size in the preview panel.
Click "Copy Symbol" to copy † to your clipboard.
Click any code row (Unicode, HTML entity, CSS, or JavaScript escape) to copy that specific value.
Switch the OS tab to see the matching keyboard shortcut for Windows, Mac, or Linux.

Use cases

Add a second footnote marker after an asterisk in a manuscript or paper.
Mark a death date next to a name in a genealogy chart or obituary.
Cite a footnote or endnote in an academic paper following asterisk, dagger, double dagger order.
Copy the HTML entity for use in web page markup.
Look up the Alt code or keyboard shortcut for typing † directly.
Grab the CSS content value for a pseudo-element marker.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-07-22 · Reviewed by Nham Vu