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Alf

boy name
Origin
Scandinavian
Syllables
1
Peak era
Rare
Today
▬ Steady

Torn between Alf and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

from Old Norse alfr, "elf", in Norse legend the name of a king who courted the maiden Alfhild

How popular is Alf around the world?

In the United States, Alf is not on the Social Security record for 2020 to 2025: names under 5 in a year are withheld at source. In Norway, 15 boys were given the name Alf in 2025.

Alf is on the official records of Norway and England and Wales.

United States

under 5 a year

In the United States, Alf is not on the Social Security record for 2020 to 2025: names under 5 in a year are withheld at source.

1890srare in US records2020s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Alf has stayed rare in US records the whole time: no peak decade to name.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

Norway

1 in 1,900 · register 2026

In Norway, 15 boys were given the name Alf in 2025.

peak 19452025

share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure

People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)

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England and Wales

1 in 65,000

In England and Wales, 9 boys named Alf were born in 2025, ranked 2,440th among boys that year.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.

Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales

See the full list for England and Wales →

Austria

last on record 2024

Alf is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.

Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)

See the full list for Austria →

Montevideo City

last on record 1942

Alf is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.

Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial

See the full list for Montevideo →

South Australia

last on record 2012

Alf is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

See the full list for South Australia →

Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.

Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown.

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Alf

Most people given the name Alf in the United States were born between 1940 and 1969. The Alf you meet today is most often in his 60s or 70s.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Alf

Howard Sigurd Olaf Einar Sigmund Gustav

Keep exploring

Short names

The Alf deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Alf truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Alf fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

Does Alf fit YOUR family?

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