![]() Statue in Wantage, England, of Alfred the Great, king of England from 871 to 899. | |
Gender | Masculine |
---|---|
Name day | January 3 (Sweden, Norway) |
Origin | |
Language(s) | English |
Word/name | Germanic |
Meaning | From the Anglo-Saxon name Ælfræd, formed from the Germanic words ælf, meaning "elf", and ræd, meaning "counsel" |
Other names | |
Nickname(s) | Al, Alf, Alfy, Alfie, Fred, Freddy |
Cognate(s) | Ælfræd (Anglo-Saxon) Alfreð (Icelandic) Alfréd (Hungarian, Slovakian) Alfred (Catalan) Alfredo (Italian, Portuguese, Spanish) Alfrēds (Latvian) Alfredas (Lithuanian) Alfredi (Albanian) Fredo (diminutive of Alfredo) |
Alfred is a masculine given name of English origin, a modern descendant of the Anglo-Saxon name Ælfræd (Old English pronunciation: [ˈæɫvræːd]), formed from the Germanic words ælf, meaning "elf", and ræd, meaning "counsel".[1][2] Its feminine form originating from Romance languages is Alfreda, and diminutives of Alfred include Al, Alf, Alfy, Alfie, Fred, and Freddy. After the 11th-century Norman Conquest, many variants of the name emerged, most of which were not carried to the modern day.[1] Today, Alfred is still in regular usage in a number of different regions, especially Great Britain, Africa, Scandinavia, and North America. It is one of the few Old English names that came into common use in Europe.[1] Its name day is the 3rd of January both in Norway and Sweden.[3]