Year · 20th century
1920 in Roman numerals
1920 is written MCMXX
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 MCMXX 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.
1,000 + 900 + 20 = 1,920
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 MDCCCCXX (8 letters). That adds everything up without subtraction. The Romans sometimes wrote numbers this way, and clocks still show 4 as IIII, but today MCMXX (5 letters) is the standard.
- There's no letter for zero. The zero is simply left out, which is why 1920 has 3 parts, not 4.
1920 for a tattoo or engraving
- Shortened to two digits ('20), it's XX. Many date tattoos use this shorter form.
- MCMXX has 5 letters. 146 of the 201 years from 1900 to 2100 are longer.
- 1920 was a leap year, with 366 days, and 1 January 1920 was a Thursday.
See MCMXX in tattoo lettering
MCMXX 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 1920
Within the 1920s, every year starts MCMXX (1,920).
Every year from 1916 to 1924 starts MCMX (1,910); only the ending changes.
| Number | Roman numeral |
|---|---|
| 1916 | MCMXVI |
| 1917 | MCMXVII |
| 1918 | MCMXVIII |
| 1919 | MCMXIX |
| 1920 | MCMXX |
| 1921 | MCMXXI |
| 1922 | MCMXXII |
| 1923 | MCMXXIII |
| 1924 | MCMXXIV |