| Letter | Name | Name pronunciation | Frequency | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Modern English | Latin | Modern English |
Latin | Old French | Middle English | ||
| A | a | ā | /ˈeɪ/, /ˈæ/[nb 1] | /aː/ | /aː/ | /aː/ | 8.17% |
| B | bee | bē | /ˈbiː/ | /beː/ | /beː/ | /beː/ | 1.49% |
| C | cee | cē | /ˈsiː/ | /keː/ | /tʃeː/ > /tseː/ > /seː/ | /seː/ | 2.78% |
| D | dee | dē | /ˈdiː/ | /deː/ | /deː/ | /deː/ | 4.25% |
| E | e | ē | /ˈiː/ | /eː/ | /eː/ | /eː/ | 12.70% |
| F | ef (eff as a verb) | ef | /ˈɛf/ | /ɛf/ | /ɛf/ | /ɛf/ | 2.23% |
| G | gee | gē | /ˈdʒiː/ | /ɡeː/ | /dʒeː/ | /dʒeː/ | 2.02% |
| H | aitch | hā | /ˈeɪtʃ/ | /haː/ > /ˈaha/ > /ˈakːa/ | /ˈaːtʃə/ | /aːtʃ/ | 6.09% |
| haitch[nb 2] | /ˈheɪtʃ/ | ||||||
| I | i | ī | /ˈaɪ/ | /iː/ | /iː/ | /iː/ | 6.97% |
| J | jay | – | /ˈdʒeɪ/ | – | – | [nb 3] | 0.15% |
| jy[nb 4] | /ˈdʒaɪ/ | ||||||
| K | kay | kā | /ˈkeɪ/ | /kaː/ | /kaː/ | /kaː/ | 0.77% |
| L | el or ell | el | /ˈɛl/ | /ɛl/ | /ɛl/ | /ɛl/ | 4.03% |
| M | em | em | /ˈɛm/ | /ɛm/ | /ɛm/ | /ɛm/ | 2.41% |
| N | en | en | /ˈɛn/ | /ɛn/ | /ɛn/ | /ɛn/ | 6.75% |
| O | o | ō | /ˈoʊ/ | /oː/ | /oː/ | /oː/ | 7.51% |
| P | pee | pē | /ˈpiː/ | /peː/ | /peː/ | /peː/ | 1.93% |
| Q | cue[nb 5] | qū | /ˈkjuː/ | /kuː/ | /kyː/ | /kiw/ | 0.10% |
| R | ar | er | /ˈɑːr/ | /ɛr/ | /ɛr/ | /ɛr/ > /ar/ | 5.99% |
| or[nb 6] | /ˈɔːr/ | ||||||
| S | ess (es-)[nb 7] | es | /ˈɛs/ | /ɛs/ | /ɛs/ | /ɛs/ | 6.33% |
| T | tee | tē | /ˈtiː/ | /teː/ | /teː/ | /teː/ | 9.06% |
| U | u | ū | /ˈjuː/ | /uː/ | /yː/ | /iw/ | 2.76% |
| V | vee | – | /ˈviː/ | – | – | – | 0.98% |
| W | double-u | – | /ˈdʌbəl.juː/[nb 8] | – | – | – | 2.36% |
| X | ex | ex | /ˈɛks/ | /ɛks/ | /iks/ | /ɛks/ | 0.15% |
| ix | /ɪks/ | ||||||
| Y | wy | hȳ | /ˈwaɪ/ | /hyː/ | ui, gui ? | /wiː/ ? | 1.97% |
| /iː/ | |||||||
| ī graeca | /iː ˈɡraɪka/ | /iː ɡrɛːk/ | |||||
| Z | zed[nb 9] | zēta | /ˈzɛd/ | /ˈzeːta/ | /ˈzɛːdə/ | /zɛd/ | 0.07% |
| zee[nb 10] | /ˈziː/ | ||||||