View Message

---

Yes, this is definitely possible! Ernst Förstemann (1822-1906) mentions on pages 165 and 166 of his authoritative Altdeutsches Namenbuch that Alfrid and to a lesser extent Alfred are variant forms of Athalfrid (also found in the forms Adalfrid and Adalfred):

---

https://archive.org/details/altdeutschesnam00seelgoog/page/n95 (in German)

---

A more modern German form of Alfrid is Alfried, which is rare but still has some living bearers today, such as the German archaeologist and theologian Alfried Wieczorek (b. 1954) and the Austrian psychotherapist and clinical psychologist Alfried Längle (b. 1951):

---

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfried_Wieczorek (in German)

---

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfried_L%C3%A4ngle (in German)

---

Another notable bearer was the German engineer and industrialist Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach (1907-1967):

---

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfried_Krupp_von_Bohlen_und_Halbach (in English)

---

With that said, I think that it is only in the German-speaking world that Alfred can have the specific double meaning that you speak of, in the sense of: some German parents might have been inspired by the English name Alfred, whilst others might deliberately have chosen the German name Alfred (i.e. the rare variant of Athalfrid). In the anglophone world, it's only the English name Alfred that gets used, I think.

---

Oh... also check out this source that I just came across: https://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/Alfred_m (in English). Apparently the English name Alfred can have a double meaning within the anglophone world after all, in that it can be a variant of Ealdfrith ("old peace") in some cases.

---

"It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society." ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986)