Scotland Flag Emoji 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (Saltire)

The Saltire: a white cross on blue

Scotland’s flag is the Saltire, or St Andrew’s Cross: a white diagonal cross on a blue field. According to legend, a white X-shaped cross appeared in a blue sky before a 9th-century battle near Athelstaneford in East Lothian, and the Scots took it as a sign from St Andrew. That story is why the Saltire is often described as one of the oldest national flags still in use. The shade of blue has varied a lot over the centuries; today a bright royal blue (Pantone 300, about #005EB8) is the usual standard, and it is the blue our downloadable image uses.

Why you might see a black flag instead

Behind the scenes the emoji is a black flag 🏴 followed by hidden tag letters spelling gbsct, Scotland’s ISO 3166-2 code. If an app or computer doesn’t recognise that combination, the tags stay invisible and only the black flag is left. Windows is the usual culprit, because its emoji font doesn’t draw any flags. Your message is still fine: iPhones since 2017, current Android phones, WhatsApp, X and Discord all show the Saltire.

St Andrew’s Day, Burns Night and Hogmanay

St Andrew’s Day on 30 November is Scotland’s national day and an official bank holiday there. Burns Night on 25 January celebrates the poet Robert Burns with haggis and whisky, and Hogmanay on 31 December is Scotland’s famous New Year. The copy buttons above include a Scottish Gaelic greeting (Là Fhèill Anndrais sona dhuibh, “happy St Andrew’s Day to you”), Alba gu bràth (“Scotland forever”) and the old Scots New Year wish Lang may yer lum reek, “long may your chimney smoke”.

Saltire, Lion Rampant or Union Jack?

Football and rugby fans often wave the red-and-gold Lion Rampant too, but that is technically the royal banner of Scotland, and there is no emoji for it. The common workaround is 🦁🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿. For Scotland on its own, always use 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿, not 🇬🇧. The Union Jack stands for the whole United Kingdom, and its diagonal white cross is the Saltire itself, combined with the crosses of England and Ireland.

Typing it on Discord, Slack and your phone

• Discord: type :scotland:.
• Slack: type :flag-scotland:.
• iPhone and Android: search “Scotland” in the emoji keyboard, or paste it from this page.
• Windows PC: the Windows emoji panel (Win + .) has no Scotland flag, so copying from this page is the quickest way.

Scotland flag emoji codes

Scotland flag emoji FAQ

How do I get the Scottish flag emoji?

Tap Copy on this page and paste it, or search “Scotland” in your phone’s emoji keyboard. On Discord type :scotland:, and on Slack type :flag-scotland:.

Why is my Scotland flag emoji a black flag?

The Scotland flag is a black flag followed by hidden tag letters (gbsct). Windows and some old Android phones don’t support that sequence, so they show only the black flag. People on current iPhones and Android phones still see the Saltire.

Is there a Lion Rampant emoji?

No. The Lion Rampant, Scotland’s royal banner, has no emoji. Fans usually combine the lion and the Saltire, like this: 🦁🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿.

When is St Andrew’s Day?

St Andrew’s Day is on 30 November every year. It is Scotland’s national day and an official bank holiday in Scotland.

More flags: copy any of 270 flag emoji in the multi-flag copy picker, test yourself with the Guess the Flag quiz, or print classroom flags from our free printable world flags.