2012 in Roman Numerals
2012 is MMXII: two thousands, one ten, two units. A tidy, symmetrical year that reads well vertically.
How MMXII is formed
M + M + X + I + I = 1000 + 1000 + 10 + 1 + 1 = 2012.
Where MMXII is used
A year numeral turns up in different places from a bare number. These are the four that send people looking for MMXII.
- Date tattoos and engravings. A year-only piece is just MMXII, and a full date stacks the day and month above it. MMXII is 5 characters long, which matters more than people expect: it sets how wide the bottom line of a stacked date will sit.
- Copyright lines in credits. Film and television end credits have long set the copyright year in Roman numerals, so a production from 2012 carries MMXII on its end card. If you are reading a numeral off a title sequence rather than writing one, this is usually the one you have found.
- Cornerstones and dedications. Buildings, monuments and foundation stones carry their year in numerals, which is why MMXII turns up carved rather than typed. Every year between 2000 and 2099 opens with MM, so on a datestone it is the letters after MM that tell you which year you are actually looking at.
- Anniversaries. In 2026, a date from 2012 is 14 years old, so MMXII is the numeral for a 14th anniversary this year. Wedding and birth years are the two most common reasons to want MMXII written correctly.
2012 in history
2012 is the year of the London Olympics and a widely shared 'end of the world' myth that came and went.
Convert another year or number
2012 is written MMXII in Roman numerals.
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the year 2012 in Roman numerals?
The year 2012 is written MMXII. Reading left to right that is M (1000) + M (1000) + X (10) + I (1) + I (1), added together to reach 2012.
What happened in 2012?
2012 is the year of the London Olympics and a widely shared 'end of the world' myth that came and went. Written as a Roman numeral, 2012 is MMXII, which is the form you will see it carved or inked.
Why does MMXII start with MM?
MM is the numeral for 2000, and every year from 2000 to 2099 opens with it. The letters after it, XII, carry the remaining 12.
How do you write 2012 for a tattoo?
The correct form is MMXII. For a vertical piece the same letters are simply stacked, and for a full date the day and month sit above the year on their own lines. Keeping the spelling standard means a tattoo artist can copy it directly.
Years people look up next
The decade anchors either side of 2012, its immediate neighbours, and the quarter and half century marks that anniversaries land on.