Year · 20th century
1921 in Roman numerals
1921 is written MCMXXI
Type any other number or numeral below to convert it.
Above 3,999? Type the barred part in brackets, e.g. (IV)CC = 4,200.
How MCMXXI is built
Roman numerals are written one decimal place at a time, largest first.
- Mthousands · 1M is 1,000.
- CMhundreds · 9C before M means 1,000 − 100 = 900. This saves writing DCCCC.
- XXtens · 2X written 2 times: 2 × 10 = 20.
- Iones · 1I is 1.
1,000 + 900 + 20 + 1 = 1,921
The pair CM uses subtraction: a smaller letter before a larger one is taken away from it. Only six pairs work this way: IV, IX, XL, XC, CD and CM. More on subtraction
Mistakes to avoid
- Not MDCCCCXXI (9 letters). That adds everything up without subtraction. The Romans sometimes wrote numbers this way, and clocks still show 4 as IIII, but today MCMXXI (6 letters) is the standard.
1921 for a tattoo or engraving
- Shortened to two digits ('21), it's XXI. Many date tattoos use this shorter form.
- MCMXXI has 6 letters. 100 of the 201 years from 1900 to 2100 are longer.
- 1921 was not a leap year (365 days), and 1 January 1921 was a Saturday.
See MCMXXI in tattoo lettering
MCMXXI in ten open-source fonts, on your skin tone, ready to download or print as a stencil.
PNG downloads are 3000 px with a transparent background. SVG downloads keep the lettering as outlines, so they look the same in any app. All fonts are open source (SIL Open Font Licence) and free to use for tattoos and products. See the font credits.
Years around 1921
Within the 1920s, every year starts MCMXX (1,920).
Every year from 1917 to 1925 starts MCMX (1,910); only the ending changes.
| Number | Roman numeral |
|---|---|
| 1917 | MCMXVII |
| 1918 | MCMXVIII |
| 1919 | MCMXIX |
| 1920 | MCMXX |
| 1921 | MCMXXI |
| 1922 | MCMXXII |
| 1923 | MCMXXIII |
| 1924 | MCMXXIV |
| 1925 | MCMXXV |