The Case Against Double-U
A letter this powerful deserves a name this simple.
It's the only multi-syllable letter.
Say the alphabet out loud. A, B, C, D... every single letter is one syllable. Then you get to W. Double-u. Three syllables. It breaks the rhythm of the entire alphabet. Children learning to read stumble here. Adults still slow down.
It's not even accurate.
Look at a W. Now look at two U's side by side: UU. Does that look like a W to you? No.
Now look at two V's: VV. That's a W. The French got it right — they call it "double-vé." Spanish: "doble uve." We're the outlier, and we're wrong.
It's not phonetically named.
Every consonant in English is named phonetically — B sounds like "bee", D like "dee", F like "ef", G like "gee". The name tells you something about the sound. "Double-u" tells you nothing. It's a description of a shape that isn't even accurate.
History doesn't excuse it.
Yes, W originated from a ligature of two U's (or V's — they were the same letter in medieval Latin). But we don't keep outdated things just because of history. Languages evolve. It's time W's name caught up.
The rest of the world has moved on.
German: "veh". French: "double-vé". Spanish: "doble uve". Welsh: "w" (one syllable!). Even languages that borrowed W from English gave it a sensible name. We're the holdout.