Lion emoji 🦁
🦁 is the lion: a maned lion’s face, golden and calm. It means strength, courage, pride and leadership — “lion mentality”, a brave friend, the king of the jungle — plus…
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What the lion 🦁 emoji means
🦁 is the lion: a maned lion’s face, golden and calm. It means strength, courage, pride and leadership — “lion mentality”, a brave friend, the king of the jungle — plus Leo (see zodiac emoji), The Lion King, football clubs and national symbols from England to Sri Lanka. Added in Emoji 1.0 (2015). From a guy or a girl it is usually a compliment about bravery or a Leo flex. The other big cats: 🐯 tiger and 🐆 leopard.
Unicode name: lion · U+1F981 · Emoji 1.0 (2015) · group: Animals & Nature.
How people use it
- Courage and strength: motivation, pride
- Leo: star sign posts
- Teams and nations: the Three Lions, Lions rugby
- Wildlife: safaris, zoos
Compare the options
| Emoji | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| lionU+1F981 | Courage, Leo | |
| tiger faceU+1F42F | Tiger | |
| leopardU+1F406 | Leopard, cheetah | |
| crownU+1F451 | King | |
| LeoU+264C | The sign |
Questions people ask
What does 🦁 mean?
A lion — courage, pride, leadership — or the Leo star sign.
What does 🦁 mean from a girl?
A compliment on strength or bravery, or she is a Leo.
Is there a lioness emoji?
No; 🦁 shows a maned male lion and is used for both.
About this guide
Written and maintained by the Emoji Directory editorial team, without ads or sponsorship. Meanings describe how the emoji is commonly used in public posts and messages, not an official definition. Names, code points, versions, keywords and translations come from the Unicode Emoji 18.0 and CLDR data; shortcodes from the gemoji project. Last reviewed . Spotted a mistake or a new usage? Tell us, or read how the directory is made.
