Year · 20th century
1940 in Roman numerals
1940 is written MCMXL
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 MCMXL 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.
- XLtens · 4X before L means 50 − 10 = 40. This saves writing XXXX.
1,000 + 900 + 40 = 1,940
The pairs CM and XL use 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 MDCCCCXXXX (10 letters). That adds everything up without subtraction. The Romans sometimes wrote numbers this way, and clocks still show 4 as IIII, but today MCMXL (5 letters) is the standard.
- There's no letter for zero. The zero is simply left out, which is why 1940 has 3 parts, not 4.
1940 for a tattoo or engraving
- Shortened to two digits ('40), it's XL. Many date tattoos use this shorter form.
- MCMXL has 5 letters. 146 of the 201 years from 1900 to 2100 are longer.
- 1940 was a leap year, with 366 days, and 1 January 1940 was a Monday.
See MCMXL in tattoo lettering
MCMXL 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 1940
Within the 1940s, every year starts MCMXL (1,940).
Every year from 1936 to 1944 starts MCMX (1,910); only the ending changes.
| Number | Roman numeral |
|---|---|
| 1936 | MCMXXXVI |
| 1937 | MCMXXXVII |
| 1938 | MCMXXXVIII |
| 1939 | MCMXXXIX |
| 1940 | MCMXL |
| 1941 | MCMXLI |
| 1942 | MCMXLII |
| 1943 | MCMXLIII |
| 1944 | MCMXLIV |