U's the twenty-first letter in the modern Latin alphabet. Its name in English 's spelled u. History In English, during the mid-to-late Middle Ages, two forms of v or u developed, which were both used for modern u and v. The pointed form v was written at the beginning of a word, while a rounded form u was used in the middle or end, regardless of sound. So whereas valour and excuse appeared as in modern printing, have and upon were printed haue and vpon. Eventually, in the 1700s, to differentiate… (More on U)