Elfriede, also known as Elfreda, Elfrida, Alfrida, Elfrieda, Elftrude, Elftraut among other variants, is a female given name, derived from ''Ælfþryð'' (Aelfthryth) meaning " elf-strength". The name fell out of fashion in the Middle Ages and was revived in the 19th century in both England and Germany. Although some of its modern forms like Alfieda can be mistaken for feminine versions of Alfred, that derives from ''Ælfræd'' ('elf-counsel' or 'wise-elf'). The Southern German diminutive Friedel or

Friedl Friedl is a Southern German diminutive variation of the name Fried - or alternately, a diminutive of the feminine given names Elfriede and Frederika. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Friedl Behn-Grund (1906–1989), German cinema ...

is nowadays more common than the full name.

Medieval

* Saint Ælfflæd of Whitby, daughter of King

Oswiu of Northumbria Oswiu, also known as Oswy or Oswig ( ang, Ōswīg; c. 612 – 15 February 670), was King of Bernicia from 642 and of Northumbria from 654 until his death. He is notable for his role at the Synod of Whitby in 664, which ultimately brought the ch ...

and Eanflæd, abbess of

Whitby Abbey Whitby Abbey was a 7th-century Christian monastery that later became a Benedictine abbey. The abbey church was situated overlooking the North Sea on the East Cliff above Whitby in North Yorkshire, England, a centre of the medieval Northumbrian ...

(654–714) * Saint Ælfthryth of Crowland (died c. 795) * Ælfthryth, wife of King Coenwulf of Mercia (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

810s) * Ælfthryth, Countess of Flanders, daughter of King Alfred the Great (d. 929) * Elftrude, daughter of Adele of Vermandois and

Arnulf I, Count of Flanders Arnulf I (c. 893/899 – 27 March 965), called "the Great", was the first Count of Flanders. Life Arnulf was the son of margrave Baldwin II of Flanders and Ælfthryth of Wessex, daughter of Alfred the Great.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische ...

(10th century) * Ælfthryth, wife of Edgar, king of England, mother of Ethelred the Unready (d. 1000)

Modern

Elfrida Andrée Elfrida Andrée (19 February 1841 – 11 January 1929), was a Swedish organist, composer, and conductor. A 1996 recording on the Caprice label features Andrée's piano quintet, along with a piano sonata, the string quartet in D minor, and vo ...

(1841–1929), Swedish organist, composer and conductor * Elfrida De Renne Barrow (1884–1970), American author and poet * Elfriede Elfi von Dassanowsky (1924–2007), Austrian-born singer, pianist and film producer * Elfriede Elfi Eder (born 1970), Austrian former alpine skier * Elfriede Florin (1912–2006), German actress * Elfriede Geiringer (1905–1998), Austrian Holocaust survivor, second wife of Otto Frank, father of Anne Frank *

Elfriede Gerstl Elfriede Gerstl (16 June 1932 – 9 April 2009) was an Austrian author and Holocaust-survivor. Gerstl, who was Jewish, was born in Vienna, where her father worked as a dentist. Biography She survived the war years by hiding in various locations ...

(1932–2009), Austrian author and Holocaust survivor * Elfriede Elfi Graf (born 1964), Austrian singer *

Elfriede Jelinek Elfriede Jelinek (; born 20 October 1946) is an Austrian playwright and novelist. She is one of the most decorated authors writing in German today and was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Literature for her "musical flow of voices and counter-vo ...

(born 1946), Austrian playwright, 2004 Nobel laureate in Literature * Elfriede Lender (1882–1974), Estonian teacher and pedagogue * Elfrida Pigou (1911–1960), Canadian mountaineer * Elfrida Rathbone (1871–1940), English educationist * Elfriede Rinkel (born 1922), guard at the Ravensbrück concentration camp * Elfriede Saarik (1916–1983), Estonian dancer and stage actress * Alfreda Freda Simmonds (1912–1983), New Zealand artist * Elfriede Trötschel (1913–1958), German soprano *

Elfrida Vipont Elfrida Vipont Brown (3 July 1902 – 14 March 1992) was an English writer of children's literature. She was born in Manchester into a family of Quakers. As a children's writer, she initially published under a man's name, Charles Vipont, which wa ...

, pen name of Elfrida Vipont Foulds (1902–1992), British author of children's books

Medieval

Modern

See also