Afred
A masculine name of Old English origin meaning "elf counsel".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Afred. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Afred today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Afred births was 1930 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Afred. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Afred. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1930
6 babies that year
Average age
-
1930 SSA rank
#3,597
Tracked since 1930
Popularity
Afred: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Afred by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Afred during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Afred
The name Afred is an Old English given name that dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period in England. It is derived from the Germanic elements "ælf" meaning "elf" and "ræd" meaning "counsel" or "advice." The name can be interpreted to mean "elf counsel" or "advice from the elves."
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Afred is found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which chronicles the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The name appears in reference to King Alfred the Great, who ruled the Kingdom of Wessex from 871 to 899 AD. Alfred the Great is renowned for his military victories against the Vikings and his efforts to revive learning and education in England.
Another notable figure with the name Afred was Afred the Philosopher, a 9th-century scholar and theologian from England. He was a student of Alcuin of York and is credited with translating several works from Latin to Old English, including works by Boethius and Augustine of Hippo.
In the 11th century, Afred of Rievaulx was an English Cistercian monk and abbot of the Rievaulx Abbey in Yorkshire. He is known for his writings on spiritual matters and his contributions to the growth of the Cistercian order in England.
During the 12th century, Afred of Sareshel was a notable English philosopher and scholar who studied and taught in Paris. He made significant contributions to the fields of logic, natural philosophy, and mathematics.
In the 13th century, Afred the Grammarian was an English scholar and author of a Latin grammar book titled "Summa de Arte Grammatica." His work helped to standardize the teaching of Latin grammar in medieval Europe.
While the name Afred was once common in Anglo-Saxon England, it fell out of widespread use after the Norman Conquest in 1066. However, it continued to be used sporadically throughout the centuries, particularly in regions with strong Anglo-Saxon heritage.
People
Afred + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Afred as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Afred: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Afred?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Afred going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about - US residents.
Is Afred a common name?
We classify Afred as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Afred most popular?
The single biggest year for Afred was 1930, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Afred is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Afred in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Afred a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Afred in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Afred still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Afred in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Afred can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Afred?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.