Alf
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- ALF
- Origin
- Old English
- UK rank, 2025
- #2,511 for boys
Alf is a boys' name of Old English origin, meaning “elf counsel”. In 2025 it ranked 2,511th for boys in the UK (9 babies).
What does Alf mean?
Old English: short form of Alfred
“elf counsel”
A short form of Alfred, the name of Alfred the Great, the 9th-century king of Wessex.
Is Alf a girl's or a boy's name?
Alf is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 9 boys in the UK. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Alf in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 2,511th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 9 about 1 in 33,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Rising up 50% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 9 boys in the UK were named Alf, making it the 2,511th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 3,502nd. Its busiest year was 2007, with 9 boys.
2025 had more boys named Alf than any year since 2007.
Half of all the boys named Alf in the UK since 1996 were born between 2006 and 2021. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.
Among boys in 2025, it was 2,436th in England and Wales.
Alf in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 9 | #2,511 |
| 2024 | 4 | #4,346 |
| 2023 | 5 | #3,712 |
| 2022 | 8 | #2,678 |
| 2021 | 6 | #3,179 |
| 2020 | 5 | #3,502 |
| 2019 | 3 | #4,913 |
| 2018 | 4 | #4,169 |
| 2017 | 3 | #4,995 |
| 2016 | 3 | #5,015 |
| 2015 | 4 | #4,086 |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 4 | #4,008 |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 1 | #6,218 |
| 2010 | 4 | #4,026 |
| 2009 | 5 | #3,395 |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 9 | #2,139 |
| 2006 | 4 | #3,522 |
| 2005 | 1 | #5,109 |
| 2004 | 4 | #3,147 |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 5 | #2,326 |
| 2000 | 6 | #1,977 |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 3 | #3,021 |
| 1997 | 0 | – |
| 1996 | 4 | #2,442 |
Nicknames for Alf
- Alfie 2,188 boys in the UK in 2025
Names like Alf
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Alfred, Wilfred, Arthur, Archie, Albert, Rupert, George, Ralph, Otis, Chester, Ollie, Otto
Names related to Alf
More Old English names
Edward, Teddy, Waylon, Audrey, Edith, Ozzy, Edie, Eddie, Edwin, Ted, Teddie, Eduardo, Edgar, Alden, Edmund, Kelsey
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland) and Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Alf: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/alf, updated 20 October 2026.