It’s not my letter, but that of a friend of mine. However, if you know how interested in names, and reasons for naming, you’ll understand why I’m sharing it here!
Letter to the Editor…
Daily Telegraph, 2nd March, 2016:
Alfie For Short
Sir, we are glad that Jacob Rees-Mogg, the MP for North east Somerset, has given his children good Anglo-Saxon names: Wulfric and Alfred for his youngest child, and Alphege for his eldest, after St Ælfheah – who was born at Weston on the outskirts of Bath, became Archbishop of Canterbury and was martyred by the Danes.
Alfie, a popular name for boys, could be an eke-name for Ælfred, Ælfheah or Ælfric. It could also be a girl’s name representing Ælfgifu, the wife of King Æthelred and, after Aethelred’s death, King Cnut.
Robert Craig, Chairman, New Ælfric Society, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset
The following day there was a reply:
Reply:
Letter to the Editor
Daily Telegraph, 3rd March 2016
Lady Luck
Sir, I am glad to be a female. Had I been male, my mother’s choice of a name for me was Fulke.
Rosie Clarke, Nailsea, Somerset
Lois Elsden 