hashtag (English)

Where does "hashtag" come from?

The English noun 'hashtag' is a compound formed by combining 'hash' in reference to the hash sign with 'tag'[1]. The term originated from earlier 'hash tag', which was first published in 2007 by Stowe Boyd[1]. The hash sign itself had been initially proposed as 'tag hash' by Chris Messina to create groups on Twitter, following a model inspired by the IRC channel prefix[1].

Full etymology tree

• hashtag (English), 'A metadata tag, signaled by a preceding hash sign (#), used to label content.'
  • compound hash (English), 'Food, especially meat and potatoes, chopped and mixed together.'
  • compound tag (English), 'Physical appendage.'

Ancestors

• hash (English)
• tag (English)

Descendants and derived words

• hutsmerk (Afrikaans)
• հեշթեգ (Armenian)
• hashtag (Danish)
• bashtag (English)
• blacktag (English)
• cashtag (English)
• hashflag (English)
• hashtivism (English)
• hästäkki (Finnish)
• hashtag (French)
• Hashtag (German)
• hashtag (Hungarian)

Sources

1. hashtag (English) - Wiktionary

Updated September 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris