Alfred
A Germanic name meaning "elf counsel", the old sense of a wise adviser. Around 10,000 Polish men carry it, and after some quiet years it's climbing again.
Alfred Pronunciation
Alfred is pronounced AHLF-ret (/ˈalfrɛt/).
What Alfred means
Where Alfred comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Alfred comes from the Old English Ælfræd, which binds ælf, "elf," to ræd, "counsel." In older Germanic belief elves were clever, knowing beings, so the whole name reads as elf counsel: a mind sharpened by some brighter source. The sense sits close to "wise adviser," someone whose word is worth hearing.
England gave the name its great bearer. Alfred the Great, king of Wessex, died in 899 after defending his realm against Viking raids and pushing hard for reading and learning. His fame carried the name well past his own century and out across Europe.
The feminine variant Alfreda walks the same road, keeping the counsel and handing it to a daughter. In a Polish class register the name still stands a little formal, a little old. Its two parts have not changed: elf and counsel.
When Alfred celebrates name day
Alfred appears 3 times in the Polish name day calendar, never as a main name. The first of these dates is 4 July.
Rarer dates. Only the most complete calendars add this name on these days. Most skip them, so hardly anyone celebrates then.
How many people are named Alfred
1 in 1999 men in Poland is named Alfred. 10,678 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #356 among male names.
Alfred's popularity over time
9 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #724 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2015. Still the #356 name among living men, even as it slips to #724 among newborns.
Where Alfred is most popular
Alfred is most popular in Masovian, 205% above the national average (5 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Lesser Poland (+186%) and Greater Poland (+101%).
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Masovian5 boys born+205%
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Lesser Poland3 boys born+186%
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Greater Poland2 boys born+101%
Alfred as a middle name
Alfred is a first name for 10,678 men in Poland and a middle name for another 7,388, a 59/41 split, almost evenly. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 117th, between Albert (7,574) and Florian (7,166).
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#115 Oliwier7,708
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#116 Albert7,574
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#117 Alfred7,388
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#118 Florian7,166
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#119 Juliusz6,681