Zed or zee?

Being British, I pronounce the letter ‘z’ as ‘zed’. Whilst visiting a friend, his two young nieces were confused and asked me why I didn’t say ‘zee’ like they did. They also chuckled at me saying ‘zeb-ra’ rather than ‘zee-bra’.

Over at Separated by a Common Language, they’ve written a handy post which is of some explanation. Zed is older than zee, dating back to at least the 15^th Century. But the letter ‘z’ has had other names, including ‘zad’, ‘ezod’ and ‘uzzard’. Noah Webster seems to have decided on ‘zee’ for American English use.

One exception to this is on ham radio, where they use ‘zed’ according to one blog reader. There may also be regional variations in both the US and UK on its use.

Do you say ‘zee’ or ‘zed’?