Meaning and history
The name means “elf counsel” and comes from the Old English Ælfræd, formed from ælf “elf” and ræd “counsel, advice.” It was popularized by Alfred the Great, the 9th-century king of Wessex who fought the Danes in northeastern England and also translated many Latin works into Old English, helping the name survive after the Norman Conquest when many Old English names were replaced by Norman ones. Though it became rare by the end of the Middle Ages, it was revived in the 18th century. Notable bearers include the British poet Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892), the Swedish inventor and Nobel Prize founder Alfred Nobel (1833–1896), and the British-American film director Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980).
20062006: 282 births, rank #749
2007: 301 births, rank #743
2008: 278 births, rank #787
2009: 263 births, rank #828
2010: 225 births, rank #904
20112011: 219 births, rank #919
2012: 212 births, rank #949
2013: 208 births, rank #962
2014: 288 births, rank #795
2015: 232 births, rank #922
20162016: 266 births, rank #845
2017: 252 births, rank #864
2018: 254 births, rank #862
2019: 286 births, rank #802
2020: 250 births, rank #899
20212021: 255 births, rank #901
2022: 291 births, rank #837
2023: 245 births, rank #928
2024: 296 births, rank #837
20252025: 293 births, rank #840
Alfred moved from #837 to #840 for boys between 2024 and 2025. Its highest annual birth count came in 1928, with 6,252 births.