Alfred
Alfred was given to 293 boys in 2025, #840 among boys’ names; 245,153 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 80,900 Americans named Alfred and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (33% of everyone recorded); the median is 65 years old and half are between 49 and 75.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Alfred by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Alfred mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Alfred is “a male given name from Old English.” Its etymology gives the senses “elf” (ælf) and “counsel” (rǣd).
From Middle English Alfred, from Old English Ælfrǣd, from ælf (“elf”) + rǣd (“counsel”). Doublet of Alfredo and Avery. Equivalent to elf + rede. The modern pronunciation with /f/ is a spelling pronunciation; the name in Old English was pronounced with [v], as shown in its Middle English descendant Alured (in which u stands for modern v).
/ˈælfɹəd/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Alfred?
#840 among boys’ names, 2025
Alfred rose from #922 in 2015 to #840 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 0.12 to 0.17 per 1,000.
6,291 babies in 1928, the peak
Alfred peaked in 1928, when 6,291 babies were given it (6,252 boys, #33 among boys’ names). The 293 births of 2025 are 5% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 293 | #840 | 0.17 |
| 2024 | 296 | #837 | 0.17 |
| 2023 | 245 | #928 | 0.14 |
| 2022 | 291 | #837 | 0.17 |
| 2021 | 255 | #901 | 0.15 |
| 2020 | 250 | #899 | 0.14 |
| 2019 | 286 | #802 | 0.16 |
| 2018 | 254 | #862 | 0.14 |
| 2017 | 252 | #864 | 0.14 |
| 2016 | 266 | #845 | 0.14 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 232 | #922 | 0.12 |
| 2014 | 288 | #795 | 0.15 |
| 2013 | 208 | #962 | 0.11 |
| 2012 | 212 | #949 | 0.11 |
| 2011 | 219 | #919 | 0.12 |
| 2010 | 225 | #905 | 0.12 |
| 2009 | 263 | #828 | 0.13 |
| 2008 | 278 | #787 | 0.14 |
| 2007 | 301 | #743 | 0.15 |
| 2006 | 282 | #749 | 0.14 |
| 2005 | 280 | #725 | 0.14 |
| 2004 | 267 | #717 | 0.13 |
| 2003 | 274 | #696 | 0.14 |
| 2002 | 284 | #657 | 0.15 |
| 2001 | 345 | #583 | 0.18 |
| 2000 | 350 | #576 | 0.18 |
| 1999 | 338 | #575 | 0.18 |
| 1998 | 372 | #538 | 0.19 |
| 1997 | 378 | #530 | 0.20 |
| 1996 | 423 | #496 | 0.22 |
| 1995 | 449 | #482 | 0.24 |
| 1994 | 453 | #475 | 0.23 |
| 1993 | 524 | #427 | 0.27 |
| 1992 | 571 | #402 | 0.29 |
| 1991 | 577 | #393 | 0.29 |
| 1990 | 642 | #364 | 0.31 |
| 1989 | 634 | #359 | 0.32 |
| 1988 | 721 | #312 | 0.38 |
| 1987 | 682 | #313 | 0.37 |
| 1986 | 672 | #305 | 0.36 |
| 1985 | 675 | #303 | 0.37 |
| 1984 | 748 | #277 | 0.41 |
| 1983 | 808 | #258 | 0.45 |
| 1982 | 834 | #261 | 0.46 |
| 1981 | 814 | #267 | 0.45 |
| 1980 | 864 | #255 | 0.48 |
| 1979 | 836 | #253 | 0.49 |
| 1978 | 895 | #233 | 0.55 |
| 1977 | 948 | #228 | 0.58 |
| 1976 | 903 | #225 | 0.58 |
| 1975 | 949 | #219 | 0.61 |
| 1974 | 973 | #218 | 0.62 |
| 1973 | 1,075 | #201 | 0.69 |
| 1972 | 1,162 | #200 | 0.72 |
| 1971 | 1,372 | #186 | 0.78 |
| 1970 | 1,418 | #190 | 0.76 |
| 1969 | 1,496 | #185 | 0.84 |
| 1968 | 1,494 | #178 | 0.86 |
| 1967 | 1,633 | #164 | 0.94 |
| 1966 | 1,607 | #170 | 0.90 |
| 1965 | 1,656 | #171 | 0.89 |
| 1964 | 1,962 | #163 | 1.0 |
| 1963 | 1,988 | #162 | 1.0 |
| 1962 | 2,130 | #156 | 1.0 |
| 1961 | 2,284 | #152 | 1.1 |
| 1960 | 2,406 | #147 | 1.1 |
| 1959 | 2,545 | #138 | 1.2 |
| 1958 | 2,711 | #133 | 1.3 |
| 1957 | 2,823 | #131 | 1.3 |
| 1956 | 2,945 | #121 | 1.4 |
| 1955 | 2,980 | #119 | 1.4 |
| 1954 | 3,044 | #116 | 1.5 |
| 1953 | 3,132 | #104 | 1.6 |
| 1952 | 3,134 | #104 | 1.6 |
| 1951 | 3,203 | #100 | 1.7 |
| 1950 | 3,235 | #96 | 1.8 |
| 1949 | 3,190 | #96 | 1.8 |
| 1948 | 3,245 | #96 | 1.8 |
| 1947 | 3,417 | #96 | 1.9 |
| 1946 | 3,238 | #94 | 2.0 |
| 1945 | 2,894 | #88 | 2.2 |
| 1944 | 3,047 | #82 | 2.2 |
| 1943 | 3,445 | #78 | 2.4 |
| 1942 | 3,408 | #76 | 2.5 |
| 1941 | 3,052 | #74 | 2.5 |
| 1940 | 3,062 | #69 | 2.6 |
| 1939 | 2,990 | #70 | 2.7 |
| 1938 | 3,008 | #69 | 2.7 |
| 1937 | 3,181 | #60 | 3.0 |
| 1936 | 3,253 | #60 | 3.1 |
| 1935 | 3,128 | #63 | 3.0 |
| 1934 | 3,158 | #64 | 3.1 |
| 1933 | 3,268 | #57 | 3.3 |
| 1932 | 3,899 | #49 | 3.7 |
| 1931 | 3,949 | #50 | 3.8 |
| 1930 | 4,558 | #46 | 4.2 |
| 1929 | 4,928 | #41 | 4.6 |
| 1928 | 6,252 | #33 | 5.6 |
| 1927 | 4,756 | #45 | 4.2 |
| 1926 | 4,726 | #45 | 4.3 |
| 1925 | 4,796 | #43 | 4.3 |
| 1924 | 4,929 | #43 | 4.4 |
| 1923 | 5,005 | #42 | 4.6 |
| 1922 | 4,833 | #42 | 4.4 |
| 1921 | 4,925 | #43 | 4.5 |
| 1920 | 5,006 | #42 | 4.7 |
| 1919 | 4,615 | #42 | 4.7 |
| 1918 | 4,873 | #42 | 4.8 |
| 1917 | 4,424 | #43 | 4.8 |
| 1916 | 4,278 | #43 | 4.8 |
| 1915 | 4,231 | #42 | 5.0 |
| 1914 | 3,347 | #41 | 5.1 |
| 1913 | 2,577 | #42 | 5.0 |
| 1912 | 2,210 | #40 | 5.1 |
| 1911 | 1,158 | #39 | 5.1 |
| 1910 | 922 | #38 | 4.7 |
| 1909 | 763 | #39 | 4.7 |
| 1908 | 739 | #38 | 4.8 |
| 1907 | 738 | #36 | 5.0 |
| 1906 | 632 | #40 | 4.7 |
| 1905 | 591 | #43 | 4.5 |
| 1904 | 600 | #41 | 4.7 |
| 1903 | 557 | #39 | 4.7 |
| 1902 | 590 | #39 | 4.8 |
| 1901 | 506 | #39 | 4.8 |
| 1900 | 640 | #42 | 4.3 |
| 1899 | 496 | #41 | 4.7 |
| 1898 | 645 | #36 | 5.3 |
| 1897 | 513 | #40 | 4.5 |
| 1896 | 527 | #42 | 4.4 |
| 1895 | 551 | #38 | 4.7 |
| 1894 | 521 | #40 | 4.5 |
| 1893 | 530 | #38 | 4.7 |
| 1892 | 542 | #40 | 4.4 |
| 1891 | 499 | #39 | 4.9 |
| 1890 | 549 | #35 | 4.9 |
| 1889 | 472 | #41 | 4.3 |
| 1888 | 536 | #37 | 4.4 |
| 1887 | 468 | #35 | 4.6 |
| 1886 | 480 | #36 | 4.3 |
| 1885 | 446 | #39 | 4.1 |
| 1884 | 520 | #37 | 4.5 |
| 1883 | 457 | #35 | 4.4 |
| 1882 | 523 | #32 | 4.6 |
| 1881 | 466 | #33 | 4.6 |
| 1880 | 469 | #35 | 4.2 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Alfred a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Alfred has been given almost only to boys: 1,292 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Alfred: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Alfred, and how old are they?
80,900 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 33% of the 245,153 Americans ever recorded as Alfred. The median Alfred alive today is 65 years old; half are between 49 and 75.
The 2020 Census counted 92,300 people named Alfred (157 women and girls, 92,143 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 95,951 born in the U.S. The Census count is 4% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 11,200 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 34,800 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 17,000 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 9,750 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 4,590 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 3,390 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Alfred born?
The states with the most babies named Alfred are New York, California and Pennsylvania, with 28% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 30,155 | #639 | 1.5× |
| California | 16,706 | #709 | 1.2× |
| Pennsylvania | 14,970 | #607 | 0.9× |
| Texas | 13,938 | #1,096 | 1.0× |
| Massachusetts | 12,465 | #622 | 1.6× |
| New Jersey | 10,172 | #829 | 1.5× |
| Illinois | 8,953 | #633 | 0.7× |
| Ohio | 7,286 | #802 | 0.6× |
| Michigan | 7,184 | #572 | 0.8× |
| Louisiana | 6,696 | #777 | 1.4× |
Where Alfred is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Alfred is most over-represented in Rhode Island: since 1910 it was given 2.0 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Alfred with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 4 names spelled alike, given to 250,996 babies since 1880, Alfred is the most given (98% of them). In 2025 it was given to 293 of their 293 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Alfred
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Alfred and names like it
- Compare Alfred and AlfordBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sAlfred peaked in 1928.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Alfred since 1910.
- Old English namesWiktionary’s origin for Alfred: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1928The year the most babies were named Alfred.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Alfred alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with AMost given first.