Meaning of the nameAlfeu

Alfeu is a male name that comes from the Latin Alpheus and the Greek Ἀλφειός (Alpheiós), a river in Greek mythology, and is given as equivalent to Alphaeus, a biblical name.

IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 2,592 people named Alfeu, the 4,316th most common name in Brazil. Their median age is 62, and the largest group was born in the 1960s. Proportionally, it is most common in Rio Grande do Sul.

Meaning

The meaning of Alfeu is not known for certain. The sources consulted give no settled meaning for it, so we give none; below are the origin of the spelling and the official figures.

People (2022): 2,592
Rank in Brazil: #4,316
Median age: 62 years
2010 Census: 3,508; people

Alfeu in the 2022 Census

People with the first name Alfeu, by the decade they were born. In the chart, 70 = the 1970s and 20+ = 2020 to 2022. The largest group was born in the 1960s (668 people).

0 women 2,582 men

Source: IBGE, 2022 Demographic Census, Nomes no Brasil. The census counts the first name of people alive in 2022; small counts are not published, and the first group covers everyone born before 1940. How to read these data.

Where the name Alfeu is most common

States with the highest share of people named Alfeu in the population, in the 2022 Census.

All states

State	People	% of population
Rio Grande do Sul	715	0.007%
São Paulo	482	0.001%
Minas Gerais	243	0.001%
Santa Catarina	229	0.003%
Paraná	206	0.002%
Rio de Janeiro	174	0.001%
Bahia	98	0.001%
Goiás	57	0.001%
Mato Grosso do Sul	52	0.002%
Pará	46	0.001%
Espírito Santo	45	0.001%
Pernambuco	35	0.000%
Amazonas	35	0.001%
Mato Grosso	28	0.001%
Paraíba	23	0.001%
Ceará	19	0.000%
Rondônia	19	0.001%
Distrito Federal	18	0.001%
Sergipe	18	0.001%
Maranhão	15	0.000%

States with fewer than 15 people with the name are not shown: IBGE does not publish those counts.

About the name Alfeu

Wiktionary records Alfeu as a learned borrowing from the Latin Alpheus, which comes from the Greek Ἀλφειός (Alpheiós), the name of a mythical river in Hades, and as a male name equivalent to the English Alpheus or Alphaeus. Alphaeus is, in Wiktionary, the name of a New Testament figure, coming from the Greek Ἀλφαῖος and from Biblical Hebrew חַלְפַּי (Ḥalpay); Behind the Name gives that Hebrew name the sense of 'exchange'. Because the entry for Alfeu traces the Portuguese form to the river, and not to that Hebrew name, the meaning of Alfeu remains open. Alpheu is the old spelling. In the 2022 Census, IBGE recorded 2,592 people named Alfeu, with a median age of 62. Most of the people were born before 1970. Proportionally, it is most common in Rio Grande do Sul.

Sources

Wiktionary: Alfeu · en.wiktionary.org · origin
Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil: Alfeu · dicionariodenomesdobrasil.com.br · spelling
Wiktionary: Alphaeus · en.wiktionary.org · origin
Behind the Name: Alphaeus · behindthename.com · origin

Questions about the name Alfeu

What does the name Alfeu mean?

The meaning of Alfeu is not known for certain: the sources consulted give no settled meaning for it. So we give none; the page shows the origin of the spelling and the official figures.

How many people are named Alfeu in Brazil?

IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 2,592 people with the first name Alfeu, which ranks it number 4,316 among the country's names. The largest group was born in the 1960s.

Is Alfeu a boy's or a girl's name?

Alfeu is a male name: in the 2022 Census, 0 women and 2,582 men had this name (IBGE does not publish very small counts).

What is the origin of the name Alfeu?

Alfeu is a name of Greek, Latin and Hebrew origin. The sources are listed at the end of the page.

In which Brazilian state is Alfeu most common?

Proportionally, in Rio Grande do Sul: 0.007% of the state's population is named Alfeu (715 people), according to the 2022 Census.

More names of Greek origin

See all

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