Alphons
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.
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| Gender | Male | 
|---|---|
| Origin | |
| Word/name | Germanic languages | 
| Meaning | "Noble brave" | 
| Popularity | see popular names | 
| Look up Alphons or Alfonso in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. | 
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,[1] 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.[2][3] and Anfós in Catalan from the 12th Century until the 15th.[4]
Variants of the name include: Alonso (Spanish), Alfonso (Spanish and Italian), Alfons (Dutch, German, Catalan, Polish and Scandinavian), Afonso (Portuguese and Galician), Alphonse, Alfonse (Italian, French and English), etc.
Middle Ages
    
    Iberian royal families
    
- 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)
 
- Portugal
 
- Afonso I of Portugal (1109–1185)
 - Afonso II of Portugal (1185–1223)
 - Afonso III of Portugal (1210–1279)
 - Afonso IV of Portugal (1291–1357)
 - Afonso V of Portugal (1432–1481)
 - Afonso VI of Portugal (1643–1683)
 
Other
    
- Macarius Jordan (1103–1148)
 - The yapese freak (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
    
- Afonso de Albuquerque, Portuguese general and governor of India
 - Alphonse Daudet, French novelist and historian
 - Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara during the time of the War of the League of Cambrai
 - Afonso VI of Portugal (1656–1683)
 - Nzinga Mbemba (1505–1543), also known as "Afonso I of Kongo"
 - Afonso II of Kongo (1561)
 - Alphonse de Tonty, Baron de Paludy (c. 1659 – 1727)
 - Afonso III of Kongo (1666–1667)
 - Alfonso Joshua Dafrad (2006-1998)
 - Afonso, Prince of Portugal, son of John II of Portugal
 - Afonso, Duke of Porto, son of Louis I of Portugal
 - Afonso of Portugal, Lord of Portalegre, son of Afonso III of Portugal
 - Araribóia, baptismal name Martim Afonso, leader of the Temiminó tribe in Brazil in the 16th century
 - Cardinal Afonso of Portugal, son of Manuel I of Portugal
 - João Afonso de Aveiro, Portuguese explorer
 - Jorge Afonso, Portuguese Renaissance painter
 - Madragana, baptismal name Mor Afonso, mistress to Afonso III of Portugal
 - 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
    
    Iberian/Sicilian nobility
    
- 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
 - Elvira of Castile (Sicilian queen), Queen of Sicily
 - 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
 - Afonso VII of Portugal, future regnal name of the heir apparent to the current pretender
 - Infante Afonso, Prince of Beira, 2nd claimant in line to the Portuguese throne
 
Alfons
    
- Alfons Almi (1904-1991), Finnish opera singer and administrator
 - Alfons van Blaaderen (born 1963), Dutch physicist
 - 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
    
- Alphonse Gabriel Capone (1899-1947), Chicago gangster
 
Alfonso
    
- 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
 
Afonso
    
- Afonso Alves, Brazilian footballer
 - Nadir Afonso Rodrigues (1920-2013), Portuguese painter
 - Zeca Afonso, real name José Manuel Cerqueira Afonso dos Santos, Portuguese folk and political musician
 - Alexandre Afonso da Silva, Brazilian footballer
 - Paulo Afonso Evangelista Vieira, Brazilian politician
 
Alfonse
    
- 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
    
- Alphonso Davies, Canadian footballer born in Ghana, who grew up in Edmonton
 
As a surname
    
Alphonse, Alphonso, Alfonso is occasionally seen as a surname derived from the given name, the latter descending from Asturias and Cantabria.[5]
- 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
 - Andrey Nazário Afonso, Brazilian football goalkeeper
 - Amila Aponso, Sri Lankan Sinhala cricketer who plays for Ragama Cricket Club
 - Flavian Aponso, Sri Lankan Sinhala Dutch cricketer
 - Jayasekara Aponso, Sri Lankan Sinhala artist, actor, director, scriptwriter
 - Sadda Vidda Rajapakse Palanga Pathira Ambakumarage Ranjan Leo Sylvester Alphonsu, Sri Lankan Sinhala politician, actor, singer, writer
 
Pseudonym
    
- Bill Alfonso, ring name of William Matthew Sierra, former professional wrestling referee & manager
 
Stage name
    
- Alfons, the stage name of Emmanuel Peterfalvi, a French comedian
 
Fictional characters
    
- 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
    
    
References
    
- 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; ed. 62; Barcelona; 1998; ISBN 84-297-3521-6; p. 25
 - "Heraldica del apellido Alfonso".
 
