What's In A Name: Alfred, Victoria, Victor

Alfred-This name, written as "Ælfræd," in Old English, is a compound of "ælf," which is modern "elf," and "ræd," which meant, "adviser" or "counsel." The Germanic peoples believed elves had great powers and knowledge; thus, the idea to the name was "wise or knowledgeable advisor." The word "ræd" came from the verb which later developed into "read," but its primary meaning in those times was, "to advise," and a form of its German cousin is part of the German word "Rathaus," which does NOT mean "rat house," but rather, "town or city hall," as long ago a town's leaders (advisers) met with residents there. The name was popular in England from King Alfred the Great, who lived in the 800s. The name has lasted into modern times, although it is not highly common today.     

Victoria-This is from Latin for "victory," derived from Latin "victor," which meant, "conqueror, one who brings victory." "Victoria" was the name of the Roman goddess of victory. The name became popular in England, Britain and British possessions during the long reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 until her death in 1901. Of course, "Victor" is the male form of the name.

 I consulted the following, so for more information on any of the names see, "A World Of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003.

WORD HISTORY:
Hall-This word is distantly related to "cellar," a word of Latin derivation borrowed by English, and to "helmet," a word of Germanic origin, with an original form in English ("helm"), but a word absorbed into Old French from the Germanic dialect/language Frankish, and then given the diminutive ending "et," and then borrowed in this diminutive form by English. "Hall" goes back to the Indo European root "kel/khel," which meant "cover." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "hallo," which meant, "covered area, covered place." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "heall," which meant, "place for dwelling, room for hearing law cases," and later also, "place for entertainment or celebration." This then became "halle," before the modern form. The meaning, "corridor or passageway inside a building," is a shortening of "hallway;" that is, "the way leading to or from a hall." The other Germanic languages have: German "Halle," Low German Saxon "Hall," Dutch "hal," Danish "hal," Norwegian "hall," Swedish "hall," Icelandic "höll" (meaning the more specific. "palace"). I could not find a form of "hall" in modern Frisian.