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 [ 2 syll. al-fred, alf-r-ed ] The boy name Alfred is pronounced as AELFRahD KEY. Alfred is largely used in the Dutch, English, French, German, Polish, and Scandinavian languages, and it is derived from Old English origins. The name's meaning is inspired advice; old peace. Two-element name from the elements 'aelf' meaning elf, supernatural being ; 'raed' meaning counsel, advice. The name could be derived from Aelfraed (Old English), meaning 'inspired advice', or Ealdfrith (Old English) or Alfrid, meaning 'old peace'. It was rather common before the Norman Conquest, and was borne by Alfred the Great (849-899), King of Wesse; he was widely respected for his inspiring rule, for driving the Danes out of England, and for his patronage of learning and culture. After the conquest, it was adopted in different forms by the Normans, and was one of the few Old English names that became popular beyond England and across the continent. It later fell into disuse by the end of the Middle Ages before experiencing a revival among other medieval names in the 19th century. The form Alured was first coined in the 19th century, from a misreading of 'u' in the Latin form Alvred, which had a 'v' in place of an 'f'. In literature, the name has appeared in the Charles Dickens novel Pickwick Papers (1836-1837) as Alfred Jingle. The form Alfie was popularized in England by the fictional young boy named Alfie in childrens' books written by Shirley Hughes in the mid 20th century, and later by the character Alfie Moon in the television soap opera East Enders (1985-). The name Alfreda (English, German, Italian, and Polish) is the female equivalent of Alfred. Ailfrid (Irish), Alfredo (Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish), Alfréd (Hungarian), Alured (Latinized), and Fredo (Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish) are variants of Alfred. Other variants of Alfred include the short forms Al (English), Alf (English), Fred (English), and Fredi (German), and the pet forms Alfie (English), Alfy (English), and Allie (English). See also the related forms, Avery (English) and Avery (English). Alfred is a classic favorite. Currently it is still somewhat popular as a baby name for boys, though to a lesser extent than it was previously. At the height of its usage in 1928, 0.546% of baby boys were given the name Alfred. It ranked at #33 then. The baby name has since substantially fallen in popularity, and is of occasional use in recent years. In 2008, its usage was only 0.013% and its ranking #787. Within the group of boy names directly linked to Alfred, Avery (English) was the most popular. In 2008, it was used 6 times more than Alfred. Baby names that sound like Alfred include Alfréd (Hungarian), Albert (Irish, Dutch, English, French, German, Polish, Russian, and Slavic), Alberte (Galician and Scandinavian), Alberto (Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish), Alfredo (Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish), Alpertti (Finnish), Aliberto (Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish), and Alvarita (English). Details of famous persons named Alfred: KEY: Pronunciation for Alfred: AE as in "at (AE.T)" ; L as in "lee (L.IY)" ; F as in "fee (F.IY)" ; R as in "read (R.IY.D)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; D as in "dee (D.IY)"   |
