Alger

(male) Transferred use of the surname, which is ultimately derived from an Old English name derived from ælf ‘elf, supernatural being’ + gār ‘spear’. This form absorbed other names with different first elements: æþel ‘noble’, ēald ‘old’, and ēalh ‘temple’. The personal name was not common either before or after the Norman Conquest, although it was briefly revived in the 19th century, along with other Germanic names.