What year did the Letter J come into existence?

The letter J emerged as a distinct character around the 16th century. It was originally a variation of the letter I, which represented both the vowel sound and the consonant sound. The distinction became more widely recognized with the advent of printing, particularly in the works of typographers like Gian Giorgio Trissino in the early 1500s. The formal adoption of J as a separate letter in the English alphabet occurred later, solidifying its place in written language.