boy's name
Alfonso
al-FON-soh
- Origin Spanish
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 3
- Letters 7
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 42,429
Alfonso completes a set on this site — Alphonse in French, Alonzo in Spanish and Italian, and Alfonso the Iberian dynastic form, all descending from one Visigothic compound. Thirteen kings of Asturias, León and Castile carried it, so its history is Iberian long before it is anything else.
- Alfonso is a name of Spanish origin.
- Peaked in 1991, when 580 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 14,867 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1881.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Alfonso over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 43 |
| 1890s | 108 |
| 1900s | 338 |
| 1910s | 1,649 |
| 1920s | 3,305 |
| 1930s | 2,997 |
| 1940s | 2,999 |
| 1950s | 3,830 |
| 1960s | 3,791 |
| 1970s | 4,141 |
| 1980s | 4,559 |
| 1990s | 5,207 |
| 2000s | 4,508 |
| 2010s | 2,680 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,424 |
What Alfonso means
Alfonso means noble and ready, or eager for battle. The Germanic compound joins nobility or combat to a word meaning prepared, so it describes readiness rather than achievement.
Where Alfonso comes from
Alfonso is a Visigothic name, reconstructed as Athalfuns or Hadufuns — adal, noble, or hathu, battle, joined to funs, ready or eager. It became the dynastic name of the kings of Asturias, León and Castile, carried by thirteen of them, so its history is Iberian centuries before it is anything else. Alfonso X, called the Wise, had the law codes and astronomical tables of his court written in Castilian rather than Latin.
Alfonso in use
Alfonso peaked in the United States in 1991, when 580 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It now ranks 1012th in the United States on 223 births and 2725th in England and Wales on 8, across 42,429 lifetime births in two of the seven markets we track. Our records carry it from 1881, and France ran a small separate series peaking at 35 births in 1967.
How popular is Alfonso?
In 2025, Alfonso was given to 223 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Alfonso is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Alfonso
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Alfonso also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Alfonso over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Alfonso in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Alfonso
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Alfonso — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Alfonso
What does the name Alfonso mean?
Noble and ready — a Visigothic compound of adal or hathu with funs, eager.
How many kings carried it?
Thirteen, across Asturias, León and Castile.
Who was Alfonso the Wise?
Alfonso X, who had his court's law codes and astronomical tables written in Castilian rather than Latin.
Is Alonzo the same name?
Yes — the same compound, written up separately here.
How popular is the name Alfonso?
In 2025, Alfonso was given to 223 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Is Alfonso a girl's or a boy's name?
Alfonso is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Alfonso?
Alfonso has 3 syllables.
When was Alfonso most popular?
Alfonso peaked in 1991, when 580 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
Is Alfonso a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Alfonso currently ranks #1,012 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.