Alvin

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A male personal name of Old English origin meaning noble friend
2. A masculine given name derived from the Old English elements for noble and friend
3. A man's name with roots in Old English, traditionally signifying a noble companion

Etymology: Alvin is a given name whose parts are both easy to read: "ælf" meant "elf" and "wine" meant "friend" in Old English, so the name Ælfwine meant roughly "elf-friend." It was a common name among the Anglo-Saxons, and it is the kind of compound name that many Old English men carried, built from two elements that could be combined in many ways. The name survived the Norman Conquest and came down through the centuries in a form that looks quite different from its origin. Ælfwine became "Alwin" and then "Alvin" as spelling and pronunciation shifted, and the name stayed in use mostly in England and, later, in North America. Its meaning stayed close to the original elements, so anyone bearing it was, in a sense, named for a friend of the elves.