The dollar symbol ($)
“What is $ called?” — the short answer is the dollar sign. The longer answer is better: this one glyph serves more than twenty currencies, carries a disputed origin on the back of a Spanish coin, and means different money depending on which country is reading. This page copies the dollar symbol, explains what it names in each place, and shows the disambiguated forms (US$, A$, HK$) that international writing uses.
Copy the dollar sign
Amounts ready to copy
One sign, many dollars
| Code | Currency | How $ appears |
|---|---|---|
| USD | US dollar | $ — plain inside the US; US$ abroad |
| AUD | Australian dollar | $ locally; A$ internationally |
| CAD | Canadian dollar | $ locally; C$ or Can$ internationally |
| NZD | New Zealand dollar | $ locally; NZ$ internationally |
| SGD | Singapore dollar | S$ is the standard local form |
| HKD | Hong Kong dollar | HK$ is the standard form |
| MXN | Mexican peso | Also written $ — the peso shares the sign, a direct inheritance from the Spanish dollar |
Where did $ come from?
The best-supported theory starts with the Spanish peso — the “Spanish dollar” that circulated worldwide for three centuries. Merchants abbreviated pesos as “ps”; written quickly, the p and s merged into a ligature that settled as $. A rival story points to the Pillars of Hercules wrapped in an S-scroll on the coin’s reverse — the design ancestor, if not the writing one. Either way the $ symbol name in everyday speech stays “dollar sign” (and in computing, plain “dollar”), and the character itself is ASCII U+0024 — which is why it types identically on every system on earth. Its wide cousin ＄ (U+FF04, fullwidth) exists for East Asian typography.
Typing and code
| Context | Route |
|---|---|
| US keyboard | Shift + 4 |
| Other layouts | Position varies (UK: Shift + 4 too; many EU layouts: AltGr + 4 or Shift + 3) — copy is universal |
| HTML | $ or $ |
| Programming | $ opens variables in PHP, Perl, Bash and jQuery — the sign works a second job in code |
Searches phrased “what is $ called” and “$ what is this symbol called” land on the same layered answer: that “what is this symbol $” question resolves to a peso abbreviation that became the world’s default money mark, still shared by every currency that calls itself a dollar — and by the peso that started it.
Explore more
The whole money family gathers on the currency symbols hub — the rupee symbol, the pound symbol and the cent symbol each have their own page there.
Frequently asked questions
What is the $ symbol name in computing?
Just “dollar” (or “dollar sign”). In regular expressions it also has a job: $ anchors the end of a line or string.
Why do some prices show two strokes, $$ or $̶$?
Historically the sign was often written with two vertical strokes (from the pillar design); two strokes today usually just mean “pricey” in restaurant guides ($–$$$$ scales), not a different currency.
Does $ always mean US dollars?
Inside the US, yes by default. Internationally, no — over twenty currencies use it, which is why careful writing prefixes the country code: US$100, A$100, HK$100.
Is the euro or pound sign related?
Only by job, not by birth: € was designed in the 1990s from the Greek epsilon, and £ descends from a capital L for libra. Each money mark has its own family tree — see the currency hub.
What is $ called in Spanish?
Signo de dólar — or, for the peso it also marks, simply el signo de pesos. The ambiguity is centuries old and entirely normal in Spanish-speaking countries.
