This unusual and interesting name is of Anglo - Saxon origin, and derives from a personal name, "Aelfwig", recorded in 1095 in Suffolk as "Aelfwig", recorded in 1095 in Suffolk as "Aelfwi" and in 1212 in Berkshire as "Alfwy". The given name is composed of the elements "aelf", meaning "elf", and "wig", meaning "war, battle". As a surname the name is first recorded at the beginning of the 13th Century, (see below). The surname development has included Thomas Alfy (1279, Cambridgeshire), Simon Elphey (1279, Durham), Adam Alfwy (1296, Sussex) and Richard Elby (1338, Yorkshire). The modern surname can be found as "Alvy", "Alvey", "Allvey", "Elvey", Elvy", and "Elphee". Ellen Elvey married Francis Curtis on September 2nd 1627 in Saint Gregory by Saint Paul, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Alvi, which was dated 1212, in the "Oxfordshire Curia Rolls", during the reign of King John, known as "Lackland", 1199 - 1216. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.