Elfriede, also known as Elfreda, Elfrida, Alfrida, Elfrieda, Elftrude, Elftraut among other variants, is a female given name, derived from ''Ælfþryð'' (Aelfthryth) meaning "

elf An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...

-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 Saint Ælfflæd (654–714) was the daughter of King Oswiu of Northumbria and Eanflæd. She was abbess of Whitby Abbey, an abbey of nuns that were known for their skills in medicine, from the death of her kinswoman Hilda in 680, first join ...

, 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 Eanflæd (19 April 626 – after 685, also known as Enfleda) was a Deiran princess, queen of Northumbria and later, the abbess of an influential Christian monastery in Whitby, England. She was the daughter of King Edwin of Northumbria and Æthe ...

, 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 Ælfthryth, also known as Alfreda, Alfritha, Aelfnryth, or Etheldritha, is a saint, virgin, and recluse, venerated in both the Roman Catholic Church and Antiochian Orthodox Church. She was a daughter of King Offa of Mercia and his consort, Cy ...

(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 Ælfthryth of Wessex (c. 877 – 7 June 929), also known as Elftrudis (Elftrude, Elfrida), was an English princess and a countess consort of Flanders to Baldwin II. Life She was the youngest daughter of Alfred the Great, the Saxon King of ...

, 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 Elfriede "Elfi" von Dassanowsky (February 2, 1924October 2, 2007) was an Austrian-born singer, pianist and film producer. Early life Elfi von Dassanowsky (also known as Elfi Dassanowsky or Elfriede Dassanowsky) was born Elfriede Maria Elisabe ...

(1924–2007), Austrian-born singer, pianist and film producer * Elfriede

Elfi Eder Elfriede "Elfi" Eder (born 5 January 1970 in Leogang) is a former alpine skier from Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Easte ...

(born 1970), Austrian former alpine skier *

Elfriede Florin Elfriede Florin (26 March 1912 – 7 March 2006) was a German actress who was popular in the 1950s and 1960s, and is best known for featuring in the 1958 film ''Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victo ...

(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 Elfi Graf (born Elfriede Sepp 20 November 1952 in Dornbirn, Vorarlberg) is an Austrian Schlagersinger. Biography Graf was born in Dornbirn and grew up there with her two siblings. She studied classical music, but did not complete the course. In 1 ...

(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