The Hashtag, AKA Pound Sign, Is Actually an Octothorpe

Few symbols have experienced the ups and downs that Generation Z's association with the hashtag has. It is widely used, may be found on keyboards above the number "3," and was previously only known as the number symbol.

It was first used as a number symbol in the 1850s. It was first used as a tic-tac-toe board in 1823. There are cave drawings ascribed to Neanderthals that show it as a general symbol. It makes sense that it has been around for a while because it is just a straightforward arrangement of lines.

The symbol's official name is not a hashtag, number sign, pound sign, or even a sharp, as it is commonly known in music. It kind of makes sense that it has another name because it is all of those things. It's called octothorpe. But whose idea was that? Phone operators. Since there was no official name for the symbol, people started calling it an octotherp, which eventually changed to octothorpe.