Alfie
Masculine · “elf counsel”
Alfie is given to both — 1,049 boys and 128 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Alfie is Alfred shortened — elf counsel, in Old English — and the elves in that compound were taken seriously as sources of wisdom.
How old is the name Alfie?
Alfie first appears in US birth records in 1917 — 108 years ago. The typical Alfie is a kid of about 12 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,000 people named Alfie are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Alfie most popular?
Alfie peaked in 1967, reaching #915 nationally. Today it ranks #2056, 1,141 places below that high. See the whole 1967 chart.
Alfie appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From ælf ræd to Alfie
The story of Alfie
Alfred the Great is the only English monarch called the Great, and he translated books into English himself because he thought learning had collapsed. Alfie is the English affectionate form, which surged to the top of the British boys' list in the 2000s. It appears in American records in current use.
Meaning
elf counsel
Through Alfred, from the Old English ælf, 'elf', and ræd, 'counsel'. Anglo-Saxon naming used ælf freely — Ælfwine, Ælfgifu, Ælfric — because elves were understood as powerful beings whose advice was worth having. The compound is transparent and undisputed.
How the name formed
- ælf ræd
- Alfred
- Alfie
Related forms: Alfred · Alfi · Alfredo
Pronouncing Alfie
AL-fee
Two syllables, stress on the first. Said identically in every English accent.
Nicknames for Alfie
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
- 1917
- Most boys named
- 202475 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #915reached in 1967
- Change vs 2024
- −4.0%72 in 2025, from 75
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.
Alfie in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Alfred in English — related form
- Alfi in German — spelling variant
- Alfredo in Italian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York, Texas. International figures from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland. Sources
Alfies among us
people named Alfie are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 23,723 born in 2025 was named Alfie
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Mikeal test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Alfie's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Mikeal climbed just as high around 1952, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Mikeal's path sketches the road Alfie is walking now.
Alfie sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Alfie is headed
Alfie looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 28% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Alfie beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Alfie in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That Anglo-Saxons named children for elf-given counsel is a first-rate fact.
- Alfred is available as a full formal version.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk.
- Given outright it stays informal; Alfred on the certificate keeps both registers.
- It is strongly associated with British rather than American naming.
- One 1966 film is a lasting association for some.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Alfie
Masculine · #2056 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Alfies are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,000 people named Alfie are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Alfie in 2025?
- Alfie ranks #2056 among US boy names in 2025, with 72 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Alfie?
- About 1 in every 23,723 US boys born in 2025 was named Alfie — 72 in all.
- Will my child share the name Alfie with classmates?
- Alfie will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Alfie
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Aylan#2056 · Hernan#2056 · Jamar#2056 · Haider#2056 · Farhan#2056 · Lake#2056 · Everardo#2056 · Keoni#2056
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Alfie? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Alfie and another name?
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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