LETTER NAMES
Some names give clues
The name "bee" starts with the sound B makes. The name "aitch" gives no clue to the sound of H.
Try the letter cluesLearning the alphabet is more than singing it in order.
Each letter has a shape, a name and at least one sound, and English uses its 26 letters to spell about 44 sounds. Here is what research says about how children make sense of it, in plain English.
Plain English, with the sources linked.
- Shapes
- Names
- Sounds
- From letters to words
NAMES AND SOUNDS
Every letter has
more than one job.
Researchers count both letter names and letter sounds
as part of knowing the alphabet.
LETTER SOUNDS
26 letters, 44 sounds
English uses its 26 letters, alone or in groups, for about 44 sounds, with more than 70 common spellings.
See the numbers
THEIR OWN NAME
The first letter first
Young children tend to know the first letter of their own name better than other letters.
See the research
AT HOME
Four ideas
from the research.
Start with their name
Children pay special attention to the letters in their own name, especially the first one, so it is a natural place to begin talking about letters.
Mention the sound, not just the name
Alphabet knowledge covers both. "That is a T, and it says /t/ like in tap" links the two in one go.
Spot letters in different forms
Point out capitals and small letters, and the same letter in different fonts, on signs, packets and books.
Give the tricky ones extra time
Letters like H, Q and W have names that do not hint at their sound. Expect them to take longer, and follow the order your child's school uses.
TWO PIECES OF EVIDENCE
Small letters,
big signals.
Knowing letters early is linked to later reading,
and children often start with their own name.
About 500
Research articles in the analysis
The US National Early Literacy Panel screened more than 8,000 articles. Alphabet knowledge, meaning the names and sounds of printed letters, was one of six early skills with medium to large links to later literacy.
AN EARLY PREDICTOR · 2008
The first one
Best-known letter
A study of preschool and school-starting children in Australia and the United States found they knew the first letter of their own first name better than other letters. The effect was weak or absent for later letters in the name.
THEIR OWN NAME · 1998
A link is not a guarantee. Children who know fewer letters early can and do catch up, and the research describes patterns across many children, not any one child.
LETTER CLUES
Does the name
give the sound away?
Pick a letter. Some letter names start with the letter's sound, some end with it, and some do not contain it at all. Researchers at Purdue University describe how that affects which letters children link to sounds most easily.
This is a general pattern, not a test. Children learn letters in many different orders.
ALPHABET FACTS
Five things worth
knowing.
Fewer letters than sounds
English has about 20 vowel sounds and 24 consonant sounds, so 26 letters have to work alone or in combination to spell the 44 or so sounds. The exact count varies with accent.
Many ways to spell a sound
The Department for Education counts more than 70 common links between sounds and spellings in English, and hundreds of rare ones. One spelling can use up to four letters, as in "eigh" in weight.
Capitals share the name and sound
A capital and a small letter look different, but they share the same letter name and stand for the same sound.
The check uses made-up words
England's Year 1 phonics check has 40 words. Half are made-up words, each shown with a picture of an imaginary creature, so children have to sound them out rather than recognise them.
Pass rates have risen
The share of Year 1 pupils meeting the expected standard rose from 58% in 2012 to 82% in 2018, fell to 75% in 2022, and stood at 80% in 2025.
QUICK QUESTIONS
The alphabet, answered.
Short answers to the questions parents ask most.
Should children learn letter names or letter sounds first?
Both matter. Researchers treat alphabet knowledge as knowing the names and the sounds of printed letters. The Department for Education notes that some phonics programmes teach the names only once children can say the sounds.
Why do children often know the first letter of their own name best?
A 1998 study of children in Australia and the United States found they knew the name of the first letter of their own first name better than other letters. The advantage did not extend to that letter’s sound.
Which letters are hardest to learn?
Letters whose names give no clue to their sound, such as H, Q and W, tend to be hardest. Letters whose names start with the sound, such as B, T, P and Z, tend to be easiest.
What is the Year 1 phonics screening check?
It is a short check used in England with 40 words, half of them made-up words shown with a picture of an imaginary creature. Since it began, the mark needed to meet the expected standard has been 32 out of 40.
How many children pass the phonics check?
In 2025, 80% of Year 1 pupils in England met the expected standard, the same as in 2024. By the end of Year 2, 89% had met it.
Sources
Each figure on this page comes from the sources below.
- The reading framework: teaching the foundations of literacy, section 3Department for Education
- Phonics screening check attainment, academic year 2024/25Department for Education statistics
- Phonics screening check: structure and content of the checkGOV.UK
- Developing Early Literacy: report of the National Early Literacy Panel (summary)National Institute for Literacy, 2008
- What's in a name: children's knowledge about the letters in their own names (Treiman and Broderick)Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 1998
- The ABCs of learning the ABCsPurdue University College of Education