Md Israfeel on Instagram: "technical name for the symbol commonly known as the hash, pound sign, or number sign. Coined by Bell Labs engineers in the 1960s, the term combines "octo-" (referring to the eight points) and "thorpe" (possibly referring to athlete Jim Thorpe or just a suffix). It is used in telephony, programming, and social media. Key details about the octothorpe: Origin: Created for telephone keypads by Bell Telephone Laboratories employees around 1964-1968. Names: Also called a has