Is Alfie a working class name?

[RainCheckMate]

What class do you associate Alfie with?

Its a name fgs who cares

Being brutally honest (sorry) Alfie sounds chavvy to me 🤷‍♀️

Same! I just didn't want to be the first to say it.
I don't like nicknames on birth certificates. It's a diminutive, to me it's like naming them Darling.

To me the name Alfie is what the name Jamie was 25+ years ago - an informal take on a traditional family name.

I'm glad I know what's important in life.

I don’t like them either, along with Charlie, Freddie, Teddy, Ollie etc. Give your kid a proper name ffs. These kinds of names strike me as someone thinking of and naming a cute baby, not the eventual man they will become.

@Notanotherwindow I agree. I also don't like diminutive versions of a name on the birth certificate. Apart from anything else it really limits the child to a choice of what they want to be called as they get older.

I don't particularly have anything against the name Alfie but if he grows up to have a position of responsibility or even just wants to not have a child's name I think it would be better to call him Alfred or an equivalent so he has options.

What is working class? There are about 5 Alfie's in my kids school which is not a private school?

Alfie and Alfred are not particularly tied to one class. It’s the same old arguments but they’re both in very normal everyday usage so who cares. Alfie can call himself Alf, Al, Alfred or something else exactly the same as Alfred can.

Alfie can call himself Alf, Al, Alfred or something else

Sure, he could be known as Steve.

I really dislike Alfie. Not sure why though.

I know of a few, all whom I would say were born into working class families

I would have previously said it was a classic name but it's become really popular recently so I wouldn't use it for that reason

@Cheeselog missed the point of the thread but are you aware many bricklayers earn more than many lawyers? 😂

@FlySwimmer my grandfather was Charlie throughout his life. Never Charles. Why is Charlie only for a cute baby?

you've taken the brave step to be the second person to say it. well done.

Best to go with Peregrine or St John to be on the safe side, op.

@MissHavishamsMouldyOldCake 😂😂

I don’t think Alfie would call himself Alfred if that wasn’t his name. My DP’s name is like this - he has the nickname as his full name - and he wishes he had the fallback of the full name but since it’s not actually his name, he doesn’t feel that he can go by it.

No it's just a name

I have taught in both public schools and currently at a private school, both have had Alfie’s and Archie’s
If you like a name pick it because you like it not because you think it is a certain class

I find people of a ‘higher class’ don’t actually get hung up on whether a name is ‘common’ or not they just choose what they want. Tying yourself up in knots about it is a middle class angst thing.

What?! My friend has a son called Alfie & I don't look at her as either a snob or any other class 💁🏼

Technically, anyone who works for a living is working class.

Technically, anyone who works for a living is working class

No. That’s not what it means.

But English is a complex language!

It's just a very popular name at the moment, like Ben was a generation ago and Steven a generation before that. Used across the spectrum I would have thought.

I expect the person to have a full name e.g. Alfred, Albert, Archibald.

I don't, they're far worse than the short versions. Who wants to be called archibald?????