Alfie is the English pet form of Alfred, from the Old English Ælfræd, meaning "elf counsel" or "wise counselor". In Britain it has been a top 20 name in its own right for two decades, helped by the 1966 film Alfie with Michael Caine and its theme song. In the United States it is still a rarity: Alfie rose from about number 4900 in 2015 to a peak of number 2029 in 2024 and ranks number 2056 in 2025.