Rejected Emoji Proposals
Rejected Emoji Proposals
This list only includes emoji that were part of a formal character proposal submitted to the Unicode Consortium. Overview documents that merely discuss possible additions or informal requests are not counted. Only symbols that were intended to be used as emoji are considered, even though that status can sometimes be a bit unclear. Emoji that had been proposed but were ultimatively added due to a different proposal or in a slightly different form are not included. Proposals are considered rejected if they did not result in new additions even when no formal disapproval notice has been published. The list is most likely not 100% complete.
Sample images are usually taken directly from the proposals and may not accurately reflect best practices. The “sample” column has been left blank where a proposal document did not offer suitable illustrations.
The “decision” column lists documents and action items that were relevant to the rejection of the emoji in question. This can sometimes be incredibly vague; discussions may not even contain references to the emoji catalogued here, but only to other characters within the same proposal, thus implying a decision. Notes that merely acknowledge the existence of a proposal without stating a position are marked with an asterisk (*); decisions that were only shared privately with the proposal authors are marked with a dagger (†). The “withdrawn” status means that the emoji was only included in a previous iteration of the document that has since been superceded by the authors themselves.
Last updated: 2026‑04‑09
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List of Emoji
Sample<br>Name (Meaning)<br>Author<br>Date<br>Document<br>Decision
Faces
Sympathetic Face<br>Mark Davis, Peter Edberg<br>2014‑08‑27<br>L2/14‑174R
140‑A115*
L2/14‑250*
Thin Face
PMS (premenstrual syndrome)<br>Svenska Cellulosa AB<br>2016‑03‑21<br>L2/16‑126
147‑A118*
147‑A119†
148‑A22
Spotty (face with spots)
Smiling Face with Hand Raised<br>Tayfun Karadeniz, Emoji Subcommittee<br>2016‑10‑31<br>L2/16‑313<br>L2/16‑324*
Smiling Face with Hand Putting on Makeup
Frowning Face with Lowered Eyebrows
Smiling Face with Smiling Eyes and Four Stars
Face with Eyebrows Lowered and Mouth Angled to the Side
Smiling Face with Lowered Eyebrows
Face with Tongue Out and Utensils
Face with Eyebrows Lowered and Closed Mouth
Smiling Face with Hand Snapping and Lightbulb
Face with Pained Eyes and Teeth Clenched
Sad Face with Lip Pursed
Frowning Face with Question Marks as Eyes<br>Tayfun Karadeniz, Emoji Subcommittee<br>2016‑10‑31<br>L2/16‑313<br>L2/16‑324*
2017‑08‑01<br>L2/17‑244R<br>L2/18‑023
Face Whistling<br>Tayfun Karadeniz, Emoji Subcommittee<br>2016‑10‑31<br>L2/16‑313<br>L2/16‑324*
Grinning Face with Letters OK as Eyes<br>Tayfun Karadeniz, Emoji Subcommittee<br>2016‑10‑31<br>L2/16‑313<br>L2/16‑324*
2017‑08‑01<br>L2/17‑244R<br>L2/18‑023
Face Banging Against Wall<br>Tayfun Karadeniz, Emoji Subcommittee<br>2016‑10‑31<br>L2/16‑313<br>L2/16‑324*
Face with Sideways Eyes and Tongue Hanging Out
Angry Face Green with Envy
Happy Face with Lightbulb
Confused Face with Question Mark
Sad Face with Broken Heart<br>Tayfun Karadeniz, Emoji Subcommittee<br>2016‑10‑31<br>L2/16‑313<br>L2/16‑324*
Sad Face with Broken Heart [ZWJ sequence: 😞 + 💔 = 😞💔]<br>2017‑08‑01<br>L2/17‑244R<br>L2/18‑023
Smiling Face with Raised Hand<br>Tayfun Karadeniz, Emoji Subcommittee<br>2016‑10‑31<br>L2/16‑313<br>L2/16‑324*
Expressionless Face with Bruises and Bandage
Expressionless Face with Eyes Half Open
Expressionless Face Half Covered by Hair
Angry Pile of Poo<br>Tayfun Karadeniz, Emoji Subcommittee<br>2017‑07‑27<br>L2/17‑244<br>withdrawn
Sad Face Cracked Down the Center
Grinning Face with Four Leaf Clovers for Eyes
White Expressionless Face with Hands Up
Face Covered with Black Mask with Eyes and Mouth Exposed
Frowning Pile of Poo<br>Tayfun Karadeniz, Emoji Subcommittee<br>2017‑08‑01<br>L2/17‑244R<br>L2/18‑023
U+3020 〠 Postal Mark Face<br>Ken Lunde<br>2017‑12‑08<br>L2/17‑421<br>withdrawn
Face with Squinting Eyes<br>Jon Magram<br>2021‑08‑16<br>L2/25‑259
L2/26‑008R
186‑C2
Hand Signs
High Five<br>Katrina Parrott<br>2014‑10‑28<br>L2/14‑282<br>141‑A10
Three-Fingered Salute<br>Rashed Khalfan Al Balooshi<br>2016‑03‑15<br>L2/16‑071
L2/16‑130
147‑A112
147‑A113†
Hand with Thumb and First Two Fingers Extended<br>Peter Edberg, Emoji Subcommittee<br>2016‑10‑31<br>L2/16‑308<br>L2/16‑324*
Hand Sign Shaka
Hand with Thumb and Index Finger Extended
Hand with First Three Fingers Extended
Hand with Four Fingers Extended
West Coast Hand
East Coast Hand
Clasping Hands<br>Zoe Mendelson, Emojination<br>2017‑06‑29<br>L2/17‑275<br>L2/17‑221*
Hand Dropping Microphone<br>Anshuman Pandey<br>2017‑07‑28<br>L2/17‑389<br>L2/17‑401
U+261C ☜ White Left Pointing Index<br>Ken Lunde<br>2017‑12‑19<br>L2/17‑421R
U+261E ☞ White Right Pointing Index
U+261F ☟ White Down Pointing Index
Raised Little Finger<br>Gretchen McCulloch, Lauren Gawne, Jennifer Daniel<br>2019‑10‑01<br>L2/19‑326<br>L2/20‑242R
Food
Yogurt<br>Mark Davis, Peter Edberg<br>2014‑08‑27<br>L2/14‑174R
140‑A115*
L2/14‑250*
Soybean<br>Hiroyuki...