Alf
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Old Norse. From Old Norse Alfr. Also a contraction of Adolf.
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Alf (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Alf has been rising over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2021. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | 5 |
| 2005 | 3 |
| 2006 | 4 |
| 2007 | 5 |
| 2008 | – |
| 2009 | 5 |
| 2010 | 5 |
| 2011 | 7 |
| 2012 | 2 |
| 2013 | 8 |
| 2014 | 13 |
| 2015 | 7 |
| 2016 | 13 |
| 2017 | 13 |
| 2018 | 19 |
| 2019 | 22 |
| 2020 | 22 |
| 2021 | 35 |
| 2022 | 17 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 15,208 |
| 2000 | 14,866 |
| 2001 | 14,528 |
| 2002 | 14,183 |
| 2003 | 13,826 |
| 2004 | 13,465 |
| 2005 | 13,110 |
| 2006 | 12,725 |
| 2007 | 12,428 |
| 2008 | 12,169 |
| 2009 | 11,923 |
| 2010 | 11,659 |
| 2011 | 11,346 |
| 2012 | 11,055 |
| 2013 | 10,741 |
| 2014 | 10,451 |
| 2015 | 10,156 |
| 2016 | 9,880 |
| 2017 | 9,611 |
| 2018 | 9,323 |
| 2019 | 9,008 |
| 2020 | 8,668 |
Alf in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Alf.Hi! My name is Alf.
- Alf har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Alf has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Vet du om Alf kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Alf is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Alfs mamma är lärare.Alf's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Alfs mamma is Alf's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Alf
How do you pronounce Alf in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Alf in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Alf mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Old Norse. From Old Norse Alfr. Also a contraction of Adolf.
How popular is Alf in Sweden?
17 babies were named Alf in 2022. In 2020, 8,668 people in Sweden had Alf as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been rising lately and peaked in 2021 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.