Ælfflæd

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Girl · Old English

Ælfflæd

Say it: ALF-flad

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Meaning

From Old English ælf 'elf', with a second element flæd. The meaning of flæd is uncertain; 'beauty' or 'purity' have been suggested, but neither is proven.

Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.

Its wave through time

No birth counts are recorded for this name in the records loaded here: it has been given to fewer than five babies a year, or not at all, since records began.

Through the ages

  1. The Early Middle Ages400 to 800
  2. The Viking and Anglo-Saxon Age700 to 1100

Used by

Anglo-Saxon

The family of the name

Other spellings: Elfleda

Famous bearers

  • Ælfflæd, abbess of Whitby

Names worth a look

Where this comes from

  • Anglo-Saxon charters, chronicles and church records
  • Lives of the saints and early Christian martyrologies

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.