Alphons (Latinized Alphonsus, Adelphonsus, or Adefonsus) is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. In the later medieval period it became a standard name in the Hispanic and Portuguese royal families.[1]
Gender | Male |
---|---|
Origin | |
Word/name | Germanic languages |
Meaning | "Noble brave" |
Popularity | see popular names |
It is derived from a Gothic name, or a conflation of several Gothic names; from *Aþalfuns, composed of the elements aþal "noble" and funs "eager, brave, ready", and perhaps influenced by names such as *Alafuns, *Adefuns and *Hildefuns. It is recorded as Adefonsus in the 9th and 10th century,[2] and as Adelfonsus, Adelphonsus in the 10th to 11th. The reduced form Alfonso is recorded in the late 9th century, and the Portuguese form Afonso from the early 11th[3][4] and Anfós in Catalan from the 12th century until the 15th.[5]
Variants of the name include: Alonso (Spanish), Alfonso (Spanish and Italian), Alfons (Dutch, German, Catalan, Polish, Croatian and Scandinavian), Afonso (Portuguese and Galician), Alphonse, Alfonse (French and English), etc.
Middle Ages edit
Iberian royal families edit
- Asturias/Leon/Castile/Spain
- Alfonso I of Asturias (739–757)
- Alfonso II of Asturias (791–842)
- Alfonso III of León (866–910)
- Alfonso Fróilaz (925–926)
- Alfonso IV of León (925–931)
- Alfonso V of León (999–1028)
- Alfonso VI of León (1065–1109)
- Alfonso VII of León (1126–1157)
- Alfonso VIII of Castile (1158–1214)
- Alfonso IX of León (1188–1230)
- Alfonso X of Castile (1252–1284)
- Alfonso XI of Castile (1312–1350)
- Aragon & Naples
- Alfonso I of Aragon (1104–1134), known as el Batallador (The Battler)
- Alfonso II of Aragon (1162–1196)
- Alfonso III of Aragon (1285–1291)
- Alfonso IV of Aragon (1327–1336)
- Alfonso V of Aragon (1416–1458), also king of Naples and Sicily
- Alfonso II of Naples (1448–1495)
Other edit
- Alfonso Jordan (1103–1148)
- Alphonse, Count of Poitiers (1220–1271)
- Alfonso of Valladolid (c. 1270 – c. 1347), Jewish convert to Christianity, philosopher, and mathematician
- Alphonso, Earl of Chester (1273–1284), first son of Edward I of England, named after his godfather Alfonso X of Castile; died in childhood
- Juan Alfonso de Baena (c. 1375 – c. 1434), Castilian troubadour
Early modern period edit
- Alphonse Daudet, French novelist and historian
- Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara during the time of the War of the League of Cambrai
- Alphonse de Tonty, Baron de Paludy (c. 1659 – 1727)
- Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara from 1559 to 1597
- Alfonso II, Count of Provence, second son of Alfonso II of Aragon
- Alfonso III d'Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio (1628–44)
- Alfonso of Castile, Prince of Asturias, figurehead of rebelling magnates against his brother King Henry IV of Castile
- Alfonso of Hauteville, Prince of Capua
- Alphonsus Liguori, Roman Catholic theologian (1696–1787)
- Joseph-Alphonse Esménard (1770–1811)
Modern period edit
Iberian/Sicilian nobility edit
- Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta (1841–1934), duke of Calabria and head of the royal house of the Two Sicilies
- Alfonso XII of Spain (1857–1885) (ordinal numbering continues from the kings of Castile)
- Alfonso XIII of Spain (1886–1931)
- Infante Alfonso, Duke of Calabria, claimant to the title of the head of House of Bourbon Two Sicilies
- Alfonso of Spain, Prince of Asturias, heir-apparent of the throne of Spain 1907–31
- Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1924–2003), Spanish playboy and businessman
- Infante Alfonso of Spain, younger brother of former King Juan Carlos of Spain
- Fadrique Alfonso of Castile, fifth illegitimate child of Alfonso XI of Castile
Alfons edit
- Alfons Almi (1904–1991), Finnish opera singer and administrator
- Alfons van Blaaderen (born 1963), Dutch physicist
- Alfons Geleyns (1887–1914), Belgian private
- Alfons Goppel (1905–1991), German politician
- Alfons Gorbach (1898–1972), Austrian politician
- Alfons Jēgers (1919–1999), Latvian football and hockey player
- Alfons Karpiński (1875–1961), Polish painter
- Alfons Rebane (1908–1976), Estonian military commander
- Alfons Rissberger (born 1948), German author
Alphonse edit
- Alphonse Gabriel Capone (1899–1947), Chicago gangster
Alfonso edit
- Alfonso Cuarón, Mexican cinematographer
- Alfonso Calderon (activist), Spanish born activist and advocate for gun control
- Alfonso Calderón (poet), Chilean poet and writer
- Alfonso Soriano, American baseball player
- Alfonso Lizarazo, Colombian host and politician
- Alfonso Mejia-Arias, Mexican musician, writer, social activist and politician of Roma origin (Gitano)
- Alfonso Ribeiro, Caribbean-American actor and game show host.
- Alfonso John Romero, American video-game designer, programmer, and developer
- Alfonso Pérez, Spanish football (soccer) striker
- Alfonso Oiterong, Palauan statesman, former Palau vice president 1981-1985
- Alicia Alfonso (born 1963), Uruguayan actress
- Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Italian physiologist and physicist
- José Alfonso Belloso y Sánchez (1873–1938), Archbishop of San Salvador, El Salvador
- Miguel Alfonso Pérez Aracil, Spanish football (soccer) midfielder
Alfonse edit
- Alfonse D'Amato (born 1937), United States Senator from New York
- Abraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin (1761–1849), Swiss-American politician
- Alphonse Mucha (1860–1939), Czech artist
Alphonso edit
- Alphonso Davies, Canadian soccer player born in Ghana, who grew up in Edmonton
As a surname edit
Alphonse, Alphonso, Alfonso is occasionally seen as a surname derived from the given name, the latter descending from Asturias and Cantabria.[6]
- Celestino Alfonso (1916–1944), Spanish republican and volunteer fighter in the French resistance during World War II
- Roland Alphonso (1931–1998), Jamaican saxophonist
- Kristian Alfonso (born 1963), Puerto Rican American soap opera actress
- Michael Lee Alfonso (1965–2007), ring name "Mike Awesome", American professional wrestler
- Equis Alfonso, known as X-Alfonso, Cuban hip-hop and afro-rock musician
- Ozzie Alfonso, Cuban-American TV director and producer
- Sadda Vidda Rajapakse Palanga Pathira Ambakumarage Ranjan Leo Sylvester Alphonsu, Sri Lankan Sinhala politician, actor, singer, writer
Pseudonym edit
- Bill Alfonso, ring name of William Matthew Sierra, former professional wrestling referee & manager
Stage name edit
- Alfons, the stage name of Emmanuel Peterfalvi, a French comedian
Fictional characters edit
- Alphonso, protagonist in Alfonso und Estrella, an opera by Franz Schubert
- Don Alfonso, character in Mozart's opera Così fan tutte
- Alphonso MacKenzie, fictional character in the Marvel Universe
- Alfie Atkins, known as Alfons Åberg in Swedish, character created by Gunilla Bergström from Sweden
- Alfonzo Dominico Jones, a dog in the Australian television series SeaChange
- Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice, character in the comic strip Dick Tracy
- Alphonse and Gaston, French duo in a comic strip created by Frederick Burr Opper
- Alphonse Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist
- Alphonse Mephisto, fictional character in the animated television series South Park
- Alfons Heiderich from Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa
- Alphonso Ali, minor character in Bloom County
- Monsieur Alfonse, character in the BBC sitcom Allo 'Allo! played by the actor Kenneth Connor
- The name of a number of pets and the Patlabor of Noa Izumi from the anime Patlabor
- Oren Pierre Alfonso from Kamen Rider Gaim
- Alfonso "French" Sosa, a main character from The OA
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. I (9th ed.). 1878. pp. 615–619. .
- ^ In the genitive, Adefonsi.
- ^ José Pedro Machado, Dicionário Onomástico Etimológico da Língua Portuguesa
- ^ E. Förstemann, Altdeutsches Namenbuch (1856:133, 145).
- ^ Diccionari d'Història de Catalunya; 62nd ed.; Barcelona; 1998; ISBN 84-297-3521-6; p. 25.
- ^ "Heraldica del apellido Alfonso".