Given name & surname · also English
Alfred
“one who counsels the elves”
Alfred is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “one who counsels the elves.”
Original Old EnglishÆlfræd
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “one who counsels the elves.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Old English.
How it developed
Its Old English formation brings together ælf (“elf, supernatural being”) and ræd (“counsel”).
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Alfred through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 245,153
- 243,861 boys · 1,292 girls
- Most popular year
- 1928
- 6,291 babies
- 2025
- 293
- #840 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +6%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 293 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 840 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 5.5% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 6,252 in 1928. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (38). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 92,300 as a first name in 2020; 6,564 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Alfred’s family of names
Alfred has a short form in Fred. Alfred has a later derivative in Alfredo. Alfred has a related form in Alford.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Alfred has relatives in 29 languages. Lines run from its Old English roots to each of them.
Old Englishwhere Alfred comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 26
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Alliediminutive · English
- Alfredovariant · Portuguese, Italian
- Freddydiminutive · English
- Allydiminutive · English
- Fredshort form · English
- Alfiediminutive · English
- Aldiminutive · English
- Alfydiminutive · English
Show 18 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 24
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Ælfrædroot · Old English
- Averydoublet · English
- Alfredafeminine form · English
- Anfredequivalent
- Frèteequivalent
- Alfredsen“son of” surname · Norwegian
- 阿爾弗列德borrowing · Chinese
- AlfreetiFinnish
Show 16 moreShow fewer
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Alfred
- Alfred NobelSwedish chemist and inventor (1833–1896)
- Alfred HitchcockBritish filmmaker (1899–1980)
- Al PacinoAmerican actor (born 1940)
- Alfred, Lord TennysonBritish Poet Laureate (1809–1892)
- Alfred Russel WallaceBritish naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and biologist (1823–1913)
- Alfred the Greatking of Wessex (r. 872–901)849–899
- Alfred North WhiteheadEnglish mathematician and philosopher (1861–1947)
- "Weird Al" YankovicAmerican comedy musician (born 1959)
- Alfred WegenerGerman climatologist and geophysicist (1880–1930)
Characters named Alfred: Alfred Pennyworth (fictional character throughout the DC Universe), Alfred E. Neuman (The mascot for Mad magazine), Alfred Bester (the television series Babylon 5).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Alfred, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Edmund
“a wealthy protector”
>99% boys
Leroy
“the king”
>99% boys
Harold
“the ruler of an army”
>99% boys
Edwin
“a wealthy friend”
>99% boys
Crawford
“from the crow's ford”
94% boys · 6% girls
Harry
“the ruler of an army” · “home”
>99% boys
Harlan
“an athletic woman” · “from the army”
91% boys · 9% girls
Percy
Percy is a form of Percival. One French interpretation is “one who can pierce the vale; in Arthurian legend, the only one who could retrieve the Holy Grail.”
94% boys · 6% girls