Alfred
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name, fashionable in the 19th century. Borrowed from English Alfred, from Old English Ælfræd. First recorded as a Swedish given name in 1751.
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Alfred (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Alfred has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2020. 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 | 129 |
| 1999 | 135 |
| 2000 | 145 |
| 2001 | 161 |
| 2002 | 258 |
| 2003 | 269 |
| 2004 | 268 |
| 2005 | 299 |
| 2006 | 303 |
| 2007 | 319 |
| 2008 | 362 |
| 2009 | 420 |
| 2010 | 478 |
| 2011 | 431 |
| 2012 | 495 |
| 2013 | 473 |
| 2014 | 547 |
| 2015 | 456 |
| 2016 | 541 |
| 2017 | 496 |
| 2018 | 501 |
| 2019 | 509 |
| 2020 | 555 |
| 2021 | 540 |
| 2022 | 502 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 1,927 |
| 2000 | 2,025 |
| 2001 | 2,148 |
| 2002 | 2,361 |
| 2003 | 2,602 |
| 2004 | 2,835 |
| 2005 | 3,090 |
| 2006 | 3,368 |
| 2007 | 3,655 |
| 2008 | 4,015 |
| 2009 | 4,406 |
| 2010 | 4,869 |
| 2011 | 5,289 |
| 2012 | 5,770 |
| 2013 | 6,228 |
| 2014 | 6,747 |
| 2015 | 7,169 |
| 2016 | 7,692 |
| 2017 | 8,189 |
| 2018 | 8,696 |
| 2019 | 9,201 |
| 2020 | 9,737 |
Alfred in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Alfred.Hi! My name is Alfred.
- Alfred ringde och sa att han blir lite sen.Alfred called and said he'll be a bit late.
- Vet du om Alfred kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Alfred is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Alfreds mamma är lärare.Alfred's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Alfreds mamma is Alfred's mum.
More names
Questions about Alfred
How do you pronounce Alfred in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Alfred in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Alfred mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name, fashionable in the 19th century. Borrowed from English Alfred, from Old English Ælfræd. First recorded as a Swedish given name in 1751.
How popular is Alfred in Sweden?
502 babies were named Alfred in 2022. In 2020, 9,737 people in Sweden had Alfred as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2020 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.