What Is The Speaking Head Emoji? The Symbol Ending Up Everywhere Explained

Some emojis are instant classics: eggplant, smiley face, dancing lady in a red dress. Other emojis have a more mysterious appeal. 🗣️ (in letters, "speaking head") may be one of the most significant emojis of our time, but its meaning is harder to pin down. What is it saying? What does it mean?

To answer these questions, keep on reading.

Where Did The Speaking Head Emoji Come From?

The speaking head emoji is an official Apple emoji. It was added to Unicode 7.0 and Emoji 1.0 in 2015, called "Speaking Head In Silhouette." It has dark blue skin and holds its neck at an angle, with its mouth ajar and three lines (representing sound) reaching out into the air.

How Did It Start To Be Used In Memes?

The first viral use of the emoji was centered around British Premier League soccer/football teams, with official accounts posting the speaking head to signal that a person would speak on a subject.

From there, it started to get used on X, where it was often employed to emphasize statements made by posters. Official sports accounts associated with basketball and American football also started using the emoji, and from there 🗣️ spread to the related world of hip-hop and music accounts.

All of this sincere posting of the meme eventually led to ironic posting that made fun of the people who posted sincerely.

What Does It Mean?

The speaking head works a little bit like an exclamation mark, conveying urgency and passion. 🗣️ also signals belonging to sports or hip-hop fan cultures where the emoji is widely used. Alternatively, it can represent an ironic parodying of these cultures where the emoji is maybe over-used.

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Which Memes Is It Used In?

It is often paired with "We making it out of X with this one," which is associated with hip-hop culture.

It's also used in another meme called Pluh, based off the audio of a producer tag which was remixed and featured into many TikTok memes.

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For the full history of the Speaking Head Emoji, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.