Roman numeral converter for numbers and dates

Convert Roman numerals in seconds

Type a number or Roman numerals in the first box: the converter works out which way to convert and shows the result as you type, with the breakdown. It has three uses:

• Convert: 2026 becomes MMXXVI, and MCMXCVIII becomes 1998. An unusual form such as IIII or IC is read by the rules, and the converter shows the standard form.
• Date in Roman numerals: day, month and year in the order you choose (month first by default in the US), with a four- or two-digit year. One click copies the result, for an invitation or a tattoo.
• Chart: every number in a range, from 1 to 100, from 1 to 1,000 or a run of years.

It’s free, with no sign-up, and the conversion happens in your browser.

The seven Roman numerals

Roman numerals use only seven letters:

There is no zero: the Romans used numerals to count and record amounts, not to do written arithmetic.

The rules for writing a number

• Add the letters written from largest to smallest: VI = 5 + 1 = 6, and LXXIII = 50 + 10 + 10 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 73.
• Subtract a letter placed just before a larger one, in six cases only: IV (4), IX (9), XL (40), XC (90), CD (400) and CM (900).
• No more than three of the same letter in a row: 3 is III, but 4 is IV. V, L and D are never repeated.
• Write the thousands, then the hundreds, tens and ones: 1998 = M (1000) + CM (900) + XC (90) + VIII (8) = MCMXCVIII.

The most common mistakes are shortcuts that don’t exist: 49 is XLIX, not IL; 99 is XCIX, not IC; 1999 is MCMXCIX, not MIM.

A chart to build any number

A number is written by putting its thousands, hundreds, tens and ones side by side, read from this chart:

Thousands are M, MM and MMM. For example, 2026 = MM + (no hundreds) + XX + VI = MMXXVI. To see every number in a range, the Chart tab shows up to 1,000 numbers at a time.

Years and dates in Roman numerals

• Years: 2026 is MMXXVI, 2000 is MM, 1999 is MCMXCIX and 1776 is MDCCLXXVI. You see them on buildings, cornerstones and at the end of movie credits.
• Dates of birth: each part is converted on its own. July 4, 1776 is VII.IV.MDCCLXXVI in the US order (month, day, year) and IV.VII.MDCCLXXVI in day-month-year order.
• Two-digit years: 1998 can be written XCVIII (98). Years ending in 00 can’t be written this way, since there is no zero.
• Separators: dots, dashes, slashes or spaces, depending on the style you want. For a tattoo, check the date twice and keep the text copied by the converter rather than retyping it.

Where you see Roman numerals

• Monarchs and popes: Elizabeth II, Louis XIV, Pope Leo XIV. In English the numeral is read as an ordinal: “Elizabeth the Second”.
• Super Bowls and sequels: the Super Bowl played in February 2026 was Super Bowl LX (60). Films, video games and events use them for their editions.
• Books and documents: chapters, volumes, appendices and the front pages of a book (i, ii, iii in lowercase), as well as outline headings.
• Clock faces: many show IIII instead of IV, a long-standing tradition.

Large numbers: the bar for thousands

With the seven letters alone, the largest number is 3,999 (MMMCMXCIX). Beyond that, the most common convention, inherited from the Middle Ages, puts a bar over the numerals: it multiplies them by 1,000. A V with a bar over it is 5,000, a barred X is 10,000 and a barred M is 1,000,000. The converter writes numbers this way up to 3,999,999: 12,345 becomes XII with a bar, followed by CCCXLV.

Roman numerals in Excel, Google Sheets and Word

• Excel and Google Sheets: =ROMAN(2026) gives MMXXVI, and =ARABIC("MMXXVI") gives 2026. ROMAN stops at 3,999.
• Word: press Ctrl + F9 to insert a field, type = 2026 \* ROMAN between the braces, then press F9 to show it.

On a keyboard, simply type the capital letters I, V, X, L, C, D and M: it’s the standard practice, and the text stays readable for search engines and screen readers.

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