Meaning & History
Manx name of uncertain origin, used until the 17th century. Kneen (1937) suggests Old Norse alfr "elf"; Gill (1963) points to the Manx surname Callow, which derives from MacCalo, an Anglicized form of either of the Gaelic surnames Mac Calbach "son of Calbhach" (the Gaelic name Calbhach meaning "bold") or Mac Caolaidhe "son of Caoladhe" (the Gaelic name Caoladhe being a derivative of caol "slender, comely").