Alf
Masculine · “Elf”
Alf is also the Norse word for an elf, and it is the same word that stands at the front of Alfred. The elves it refers to were not small, not friendly and not decorative; they were a category of being that had to be dealt with, and a whole class of Germanic names is built on them.
How old is the name Alf?
Alf was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Alf alive today was born around 1922, making them about 103 years old. About 200 people named Alf are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Alf most popular?
Alf peaked in 1883, reaching #460 nationally. See the whole 1883 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From alfr to Alf
The story of Alf
Norse sources treat the alfar as a class of beings on a level with the gods rather than below them, mentioned in the same breath in formulaic phrases and receiving their own sacrifices; there is an autumn ritual described in one saga that a Christian traveler is turned away from because it is being held for them. They are associated with the dead, with sickness, with skill in making things, and with places rather than with woods in general. Everything cheerful and diminutive about the modern picture arrives in the last few centuries. The name is a reminder that people once thought it worth naming a child after them.
Meaning
Elf
The Germanic element alb or aelf, an elf, which is the front of Alfred, Alvin, Alberic and the German Alfons. As a name standing alone it is Scandinavian rather than English, where it is a clipping of the longer form. Both accounts arrive at the same three letters.
How the name formed
- alfr
- Alf
Related forms: Alf · Alf
Pronouncing Alf
ALF
One syllable. The lf cluster at the end is straightforward for English speakers and the name has no possible ambiguity in spelling or sound.
Nicknames for Alf
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 191736 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #460reached in 1883
- Change vs 1974
- −37.5%5 in 1979, from 8
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Alf in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Alf in Norwegian — same name
- Alf in Swedish — same name
Alfs among us
people named Alf are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Alf sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Three letters, one syllable, and nothing at all that can be got wrong.
- It is a standard given name in Norway and Sweden rather than only a clipping.
- A long formal name sits behind it in English if one is wanted.
- For a generation of Americans it is a television alien before it is a name.
- It reads as a shortening in English whatever is on the certificate.
- It is strongly dated to the nineteenth century in American records.
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Alf
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Alfs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named Alf are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Alf in 2025?
- Alf is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Alf with classmates?
- Alf will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More A names
The most-given names starting with A, all years combined.
Anthony#46 · Andrew#73 · Alexander#30 · Aaron#80 · Adam#101 · Arthur#87 · Albert#614 · Austin#113
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Alf? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Alf and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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