Alfred

What Alfred means

Means “elf + counsel”

From Middle English Alfred, from Old English Ælfrǣd, from ælf (“elf”) +‎ rǣd (“counsel”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Alfred” (revision 93883222), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Alfred?

US: Steady: #922 in 2015, #840 now. England & Wales: Rising: up from #114 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1928, when 6,252 boys got the name (#33 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 5,830 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 399 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 1,091 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in UT (0.46 per 1,000 boys), CT (0.45 per 1,000 boys), OR (0.4 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Alfred is #840 in the US and #76 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Alfred were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

If you like Alfred

Boys

• Harold#991“army + ruler, authority”^*
• Edward#224“wealth, riches + ward, guard”^*
• Alvin#838“elf + friend”^*
• Edgar#486“rich + spear”^*
• Trey#883Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1999, with 1,798 babies; 269 in 2025
• Edwin#398Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1922, with 3,827 babies; 798 in 2025

For a sister

• Holly#416“wood, clearing, meadow”^*
• April#542“the month of the goddess Venus”^*
• Raven#404Editor’s note Up from #486 in 2015 to #404 in 2025 in the US
• Amber#520“ambergris”^*
• Bonnie#396“fine, beautiful”^*
• Laurel#734Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1956, with 1,181 babies; 372 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under English, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Alfred’s. Rank is US 2025.