No standard defines Y2K aesthetic symbols, so this is one site's pick for a look dated to the late 1990s and early 2000s: seven stars, eleven dust marks, hearts, spirals and desk keys, plus 48 ready-made lines for a bio or a name.
Read the full guide
How a Y2K sparkle is built
Most of the sparkle is not stars. In ⋆｡˚ the first mark is the star operator, a maths sign; the second is a halfwidth ideographic full stop; the third is ring above, a spacing accent. All 18 star and dust tiles date from Unicode 1.1 (1993), older than the years the look borrows from.
What Y2K fonts are made of
Unicode has no Y2K alphabet, and no character name holds Y2K. What gets called y2k fonts copy and paste is ordinary letters in another style. The nine words here use seven: fullwidth, bold script, double-struck, bold Fraktur, monospace, sans-serif bold italic and circled, plus alternating capitals and leet speak, typed on any keyboard. All but fullwidth and circled joined Unicode in version 3.1 (2001).
Tips
Search frame for the 16 name wrappers, then swap the word name for your own after pasting.
Four lines use keyboard characters only, for a box that refuses anything else: search ascii.
Eleven tiles, ♥ and ☎ among them, are copied with U+FE0E, which asks for text and not the emoji.
Questions and answers
What are Y2K symbols?
Wikipedia's article on the Y2K aesthetic lists chrome, gradients, flip phones and old computers, but no characters, so any list is a pick. For y2k symbols copy and paste, this one takes stars, dust marks, hearts, spirals and desk signs, chosen by shape.
Which emojis are Y2K?
No emoji is named or filed under Y2K or flip phone in Unicode's keyword list. The 19 here lean on old technology: 💿 and 📀, the only two filed under CD, 📼, filed under vhs, and 🪩, the only one filed under glitter.
Is there a Y2K font I can copy and paste?
Not as a font: a font stays on the device. Y2k font copy and paste means Unicode letters that already look styled, such as ｙ２ｋ in fullwidth, which paste as text. For chrome or holographic lettering, the Y2K font generator draws a picture.
What is the 𖦹 symbol?
A letter, not a picture: Bamum letter phase-E ngkaami, U+169B9, from the Bamum Supplement block, added to Unicode in version 6.0 (2010). It is borrowed for its spiral shape. It needs a Bamum font, so a device without one shows a box.
★Black starU+2605 Black star. Miscellaneous Symbols block, Unicode 1.1.
¤Currency signU+00A4 Currency sign. Latin-1 Supplement block, Unicode 1.1. The names list calls it generic or unknown currency. Here for its shape: a ring with four rays.
⊹Four-armed glintU+22B9 Hermitian conjugate matrix. Mathematical Operators block, Unicode 1.1. A maths sign by name. By shape it is four thin arms that do not meet, which reads as a glint.
｡Halfwidth full stopU+FF61 Halfwidth ideographic full stop. Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms block, Unicode 1.1. The narrow form of the ideographic full stop, U+3002: a small ring that sits low.
･Halfwidth middle dotU+FF65 Halfwidth Katakana middle dot. Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms block, Unicode 1.1. The narrow form of the katakana middle dot, U+30FB.
ﾟHalfwidth raised ringU+FF9F Halfwidth Katakana semi-voiced sound mark. Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms block, Unicode 1.1. The narrow form of a katakana sound mark, U+309A: a small ring set high.
‧Hyphenation pointU+2027 Hyphenation point. General Punctuation block, Unicode 1.1. A dictionary mark: the names list has it show where a word may break, as in dic·tion·ar·ies.
Show all 116 Y2K symbols (108 more)
Stars and sparkle dust, continued
ºMasculine ordinal indicatorU+00BA Masculine ordinal indicator. Latin-1 Supplement block, Unicode 1.1. A raised letter o, which the names list ties to Spanish: it ends a written ordinal such as 1º. Here it is the second ring of the °º¤ø wave, one of the name wrappers.
˖Modifier plusU+02D6 Modifier letter plus sign. Spacing Modifier Letters block, Unicode 1.1. A phonetic mark: the names list gives its use as advanced or fronted articulation.
✮Outlined black starU+272E Heavy outlined black star. Dingbats block, Unicode 1.1.
✩Outlined white starU+2729 Stress outlined white star. Dingbats block, Unicode 1.1.
˚Ring aboveU+02DA Ring above. Spacing Modifier Letters block, Unicode 1.1. A spacing accent. The names list keeps it apart from the degree sign.
⋆Star operatorU+22C6 Star operator. Mathematical Operators block, Unicode 1.1. A maths sign, which the names list ties to the programming language APL. It is the small star of the clusters below.
₊Subscript plusU+208A Subscript plus sign. Superscripts and Subscripts block, Unicode 1.1. A plus sign set below the line.
⁺Superscript plusU+207A Superscript plus sign. Superscripts and Subscripts block, Unicode 1.1. A plus sign set above the line.
✧White four-pointed starU+2727 White four pointed star. Dingbats block, Unicode 1.1.
☆White starU+2606 White star. Miscellaneous Symbols block, Unicode 1.1.
Sparkle clusters, ready made 12
.☆.｡.:*･ﾟA star with a tail of full stops
·:*¨ ★ ¨*:·A star in a burst of dots and asterisks
⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊Seven marks, no two alike
₊˚⊹ ★ ⊹˚₊A black star between two glints
⋆｡˚ ☆ ˚｡⋆A white star in a drift of dust
★彡A shooting star with a three-stroke tail
☆ ★ ✮ ★ ☆Five stars, the outlined one in the middle
✦ ‧₊˚ ✧ ˚₊‧ ✦Four-pointed stars, black outside, white inside
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*Two four-pointed stars trailing dots
✩₊˚.⋆☆⋆.˚₊✩A mirrored run with a white star in the middle
𖦹 ⋆｡˚ 𖦹Two Bamum spirals and a small star
｡･ﾟ☆ﾟ･｡A star lifted on halfwidth dots
2000s-style name wrappers 16
<3 name <3The typed heart: less-than and a three
ıllı name ıllıEqualiser bars from dotless i and l
[ name ] _ □ ×A window title bar with its three buttons
(¯`·._ name _.·´¯)Brackets with a wave along the top
~*~ name ~*~Tildes round an asterisk, all ASCII
.·:*¨ name ¨*:·.A burst opening toward the name
»» name ««Guillemets pointing at the name
★·.·´¯ name ¯`·.·★A black star at each end of a wave
¸.·´¯ name ¯`·.¸A wave rising to the name and falling away
°º¤ø name ø¤º°Four rings a side, each a Latin-1 character
-ˋˏ name ˎˊ-Rays either side, drawn with modifier accents
⋆｡˚ name ˚｡⋆Star, full stop and ring, mirrored
₊˚⊹ name ⊹˚₊Glints and plus signs
✧･ﾟ name ﾟ･✧Four-pointed stars with halfwidth dots
•°o.O name O.o°•Bubbles growing toward the name
xX_name_XxCapital X, small x and underscores, all ASCII
Words in a Y2K font 9
~*~ 𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙮 ~*~Baby in sans-serif bold italic
⋆｡˚ 𝖈𝖞𝖇𝖊𝖗 ˚｡⋆Cyber in bold Fraktur
★ ｙ２ｋ ★Y2K in fullwidth letters
☆ 𝕕𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕞 ☆Dream in double-struck
♡ ⓑⓛⓘⓝⓖ ♡Bling in circled letters
✧ 𝓪𝓷𝓰𝓮𝓵 ✧Angel in bold script
★ 5t4r g1rl ★Star girl in leet speak: 5 is s, 4 is a, 1 is i
xX sTaRgIrL XxAlternating capitals, plain ASCII
xX 𝚐𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 XxGlitter in monospace
Sparkle dividers 11
-=-=-=- ★ -=-=-=-Hyphens and equals signs round one star
°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°A rolling wave of rings, commas and cedillas
·:*¨¨*:·.·:*¨¨*:·.·:*¨¨*:·Three bursts of dots, asterisks and diaereses
¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸Three waves of accents and dots
⋆｡˚ ☆ ˚｡⋆｡˚ ☆ ˚｡⋆Two white stars in a drift of dust
▁ ▂ ▃ ▅ ▆ ▇ ▆ ▅ ▃ ▂ ▁An equaliser peak in block elements
☆ ★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★ ☆White and black stars taking turns
✦ · ✧ · ✦ · ✧ · ✦Four-pointed stars, black then white
✧ ─── ✧ ─── ✧A rule with three four-pointed stars
ıllıllı ıllıllı ıllıllıThree sets of equaliser bars
█████▒▒▒░░░ loadingA loading bar in three block shades
Hearts, swirls and smileys 15
𖦹Bamum spiralU+169B9 Bamum letter phase-e ngkaami. Bamum Supplement block, Unicode 6.0. A letter of the Bamum script, which Unicode files as limited-use. It is not a picture: it is here for its shape, a spiral. It needs a Bamum font, and a device without one shows a box.
♫Beamed eighth notesU+266B Beamed eighth notes. Miscellaneous Symbols block, Unicode 1.1. The names list also calls it beamed quavers.
♥︎Black heart suitU+2665 Black heart suit. Miscellaneous Symbols block, Unicode 1.1. The names list also calls it valentine. Has an emoji form too, so it is copied with U+FE0E, the selector that keeps it as plain text.
꩜Cham spiralU+AA5C Cham punctuation spiral. Cham block, Unicode 5.1. A punctuation mark of the Cham script, which Unicode files as limited-use. It needs a Cham font, and a device without one shows a box.
㋡Circled katakana tuU+32E1 Circled Katakana tu. Enclosed CJK Letters and Months block, Unicode 1.1. The katakana letter tu inside a ring, which reads as a smiling face.
♪Eighth noteU+266A Eighth note. Miscellaneous Symbols block, Unicode 1.1. The names list also calls it quaver.
ღGeorgian ghanU+10E6 Georgian letter ghan. Georgian block, Unicode 1.1. A letter of the Georgian alphabet, here for its heart shape.
❣︎Heart exclamation markU+2763 Heavy heart exclamation mark ornament. Dingbats block, Unicode 1.1. Has an emoji form too, so it is copied with U+FE0E, the selector that keeps it as plain text.
☮︎Peace symbolU+262E Peace symbol. Miscellaneous Symbols block, Unicode 1.1. Has an emoji form too, so it is copied with U+FE0E, the selector that keeps it as plain text.
❥Rotated heart bulletU+2765 Rotated heavy black heart bullet. Dingbats block, Unicode 1.1.
✌︎Victory handU+270C Victory hand. Dingbats block, Unicode 1.1. Has an emoji form too, so it is copied with U+FE0E, the selector that keeps it as plain text.
☺︎White smiling faceU+263A White smiling face. Miscellaneous Symbols block, Unicode 1.1. The names list glosses it as have a nice day. Has an emoji form too, so it is copied with U+FE0E, the selector that keeps it as plain text.
☯︎Yin yangU+262F Yin yang. Miscellaneous Symbols block, Unicode 1.1. Has an emoji form too, so it is copied with U+FE0E, the selector that keeps it as plain text.
Phones, keys and window buttons 16
☒Ballot box with XU+2612 Ballot box with x. Miscellaneous Symbols block, Unicode 1.1. Stands in for the close button of a window. Unicode 7.0 added characters named Minimize, Maximize and Cancellation X, and all three drew as boxes on the test computer.
☎︎Black telephoneU+260E Black telephone. Miscellaneous Symbols block, Unicode 1.1. Has an emoji form too, so it is copied with U+FE0E, the selector that keeps it as plain text.
◎BullseyeU+25CE Bullseye. Geometric Shapes block, Unicode 1.1. Two rings, standing in for a disc. Unicode has an optical disc icon in plain text, U+1F5B8, but it drew as a box on the test computer.
⇪Caps lock arrowU+21EA Upwards white arrow from bar. Arrows block, Unicode 1.1. The names list also calls it caps lock.
⏏︎Eject symbolU+23CF Eject symbol. Miscellaneous Technical block, Unicode 4.0. The names list calls it a UI symbol to eject media. Has an emoji form too, so it is copied with U+FE0E, the selector that keeps it as plain text.
✉︎EnvelopeU+2709 Envelope. Dingbats block, Unicode 1.1. The names list also calls it sealed envelope. Has an emoji form too, so it is copied with U+FE0E, the selector that keeps it as plain text.
⌫Erase to the leftU+232B Erase to the left. Miscellaneous Technical block, Unicode 1.1. The names list calls it the delete to the left key.
⌨︎KeyboardU+2328 Keyboard. Miscellaneous Technical block, Unicode 1.1. Has an emoji form too, so it is copied with U+FE0E, the selector that keeps it as plain text.
▶︎Play triangleU+25B6 Black right-pointing triangle. Geometric Shapes block, Unicode 1.1. Has an emoji form too, so it is copied with U+FE0E, the selector that keeps it as plain text.
⏻Power symbolU+23FB Power symbol. Miscellaneous Technical block, Unicode 9.0. The names list gives it as the IEC 5009 standby symbol and the IEEE 1621 power symbol.