Many of the symbols are the first one or two letters of the element’s name in English. The first letter of a symbol is always written as a capital letter (uppercase) and the second letter as a small letter (lowercase).
For example
(i) hydrogen, H
(ii) aluminium, Al and not AL
(iii) cobalt, Co and not CO.
Symbols of some elements are formed from the first letter of the name and a letter, appearing later in the name.
Examples are: (i)chlorine, Cl, (ii) zinc, Zn etc.
Other symbols have been taken from the
names of elements in Latin, German or Greek.
For example, the symbol of iron is Fe from its Latin name ferrum, sodium is Na from natrium, potassium is K from kalium. Therefore, each element has a name and a unique chemical symbol.