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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2004What the Ff?
This one goes out to the Brits: I know that there are British names beginning with a Ff. In fact, in a science book I saw several ones (hinting these belong to old distinguished folk? :-) - but then one topped the screwyness by writing himself with a SMALL ff at the beginning. Can somebody give me a short Ffology 101A?  SignatureHauke Reddmann <:-EX8 fc3a501@uni-hamburg.de als man ankam wollte man werden, die geschichte schreiben, die doofen sollen sterben, der plan als man damals nach hamburg kam (Kettcar) > This one goes out to the Brits: > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > SMALL ff at the beginning. > Can somebody give me a short Ffology 101A? I'm not a Brit; I'm an American fan of Google :-) . The following is from someone with the surname "ffolliott" who would seem to have a strong motive to find the answer to the same question you pose, and yet was unable to do so: From http://members.rogers.com/danielff/ "*Why is our surname spelled with two lowercase ff's ?* "*Answer:* _This variation of the spelling of the letter F is also found in ffoulkes, ffolkes, ffrench, and fforde. I do not have an authoritative explanation, though it does appear to have its origins in Elizabethan England._" SignatureRaymond S. Wise Minneapolis, Minnesota USA E-mail: mplsray @ yahoo . com "Hauke Reddmann" <fc3a501@uni-hamburg.de> wrote... > This one goes out to the Brits: > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > SMALL ff at the beginning. > Can somebody give me a short Ffology 101A? The "Ff" form is a recent solecism, in fact. A similar question was posted to alt.usage.english a few months ago, in answer to which someone quoted the following entry from Fowler's _Modern English Usage_, 2nd edition: "In old manuscripts the capital F was sometimes written _ff_. This is the origin of the curious spelling of some English surnames: ffolliot, fforde, ffoulkes, ffrench, and others. The distinction of possessing such a name is naturally prized: readers of _Cranford_ will remember Mrs. Forrester's cousin Mr. ffoulkes who always looked down on capital letters and said they belonged to lately invented families; and it was feared he would die a batchelor until he met a Mrs. ffaringdon and married her, 'and it was all owing to her two little _ffs_'." Matti > "Hauke Reddmann" <fc3a501@uni-hamburg.de> wrote... >> This one goes out to the Brits: [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > The "Ff" form is a recent solecism, in fact. Except in Welsh, where ff is the English f sound. I have a friend called Ffion. m. >> "Hauke Reddmann" <fc3a501@uni-hamburg.de> wrote... >>> This one goes out to the Brits: [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >Except in Welsh, where ff is the English f sound. I have a friend called >Ffion. So has William Hague. Mike SignatureM.J.Powell >>> "Hauke Reddmann" <fc3a501@uni-hamburg.de> wrote... >>>> This one goes out to the Brits: [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > So has William Hague. No, she's married to him! m. >This one goes out to the Brits: > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >SMALL ff at the beginning. >Can somebody give me a short Ffology 101A? Ffrangcon (Gwen Ffrangcon Davis - actress) Ffolkes Possibly from the Welsh 'F' and 'Ff'. In Welsh 'f' is pronounced as the English 'v'. The 'Ff' as 'f'. Mike SignatureM.J.Powell |
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