Animals & Nature · Emoji 17.0
Orca Emoji
is the orca, a killer whale. It’s used to talk about orcas literally, or jokingly to celebrate their yacht-sinking rebellion.
It shows a black-and-white orca mid-swim, added in 2025 to finally give killer whales their own emoji instead of the generic whale.
- Unicode
- U+1FACD
- Released
- 2025
- Shortcode
- :orca:
- Skin tones
- No
Added in Emoji 17.0. On phones older than iOS 26.4, or an Android phone without a 2026 update, it arrives as an empty box — the character exists, the artwork does not.
01 — Meaning
What does the Orca emoji mean?
is the orca, a killer whale. It’s used to talk about orcas literally, or jokingly to celebrate their yacht-sinking rebellion. sits in animal emojis, where it is listed next to everything used the same way. It also turns up in dark emojis.One character, many names — these are the wordings people actually type, all 3 of them.
02 — Platforms
Orca emoji on iPhone, Android, WhatsApp and X
The character you send is always U+1FACD. The picture is not: it is redrawn by each system, and the designs below number 4.
See the whole set the way each system draws it — iPhone emojis, Android emojis, WhatsApp emojis and Discord emojis.
03 — Copy & codes
Orca emoji copy and paste
Everything here is the same character in different notation — including the shortcode chat apps know it by, :orca:.
All emoji copy and paste →In your code
Different notation, one result: whichever escape you paste, what comes out is U+1FACD.
04 — How to type
How to type the Orca emoji
No picker to hand? The orca can be typed straight from the keyboard — the codes for that are below, one per system.
as you send. The full set is on the Discord emoji page.05 — Download
Orca emoji PNG and SVG
Transparent PNG and SVG for thumbnails, decks and design files — one file per vendor, which makes 4. Artwork belongs to whoever drew it, so check the licence before commercial use.
Emoji PNG library →
Apple
Google
06 — Combinations
Orca emoji combinations
Ready-made combos built around orca for bios, captions and comments. Tap to copy.
All combinations →Want two emojis fused into one sticker instead of set side by side? Emoji Kitchen does that for every pair Google has drawn, and there are more ready-made pairs in emoji combinations and aesthetic emoji combos.
07 — In conversation
What means from a girl or a guy
Same emoji, different intent depending on who sent it and what came before.
, you could reply with: "Orca uprising!", "Free the whales", or "Chaotic energy, I respect it."08 — Apps
What means on TikTok, WhatsApp and Discord
The character is the same everywhere, but the artwork and the reading of it change from app to app.
is the orca, a killer whale. It’s used to talk about orcas literally, or jokingly to celebrate their yacht-sinking rebellion. In comments and captions it is read the same way — the tone comes from what it sits next to. with Apple-style artwork on every phone, so it looks identical for both sides. A message with only in it is shown enlarged. looks different there than on your phone. from the copy button above.09 — Related
Emojis similar to the Orca emoji
Same family (animal-marine) — often confused with orca or used alongside it.
Animals & Nature →Collections belongs to — every one of them
is a different way people go looking for it:
10 — History
Where the Orca emoji came from
It arrived with the 17.0 release of the standard, which dates the orca to 2025.
Orca was approved as U+1FACD and shipped in Emoji 17.0 (2025). Phones usually get new artwork about a year after approval, in a system update.
Every vendor keeps its own artwork, so is redrawn by
Apple, Google, Twitter / X, OpenMoji.
The character you send never changes — only the picture does.
11 — FAQ
Orca emoji — questions people actually ask
What does the Orca emoji mean?
is the orca, a killer whale. It’s used to talk about orcas literally, or jokingly to celebrate their yacht-sinking rebellion.What does mean from a girl?
What does mean from a guy?
How do you reply to the emoji?
, you could reply with: "Orca uprising!", "Free the whales", or "Chaotic energy, I respect it."What else is the emoji called?
What is the Unicode code for ?
How do I copy and paste the emoji?
goes straight to your clipboard and pastes into Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, Discord or any text field. You can also copy its shortcode :orca: for Slack and Discord.