Alfred Pennyworth - Name

Name

Alfred introduced himself as the son of a butler named Jarvis in one of his early appearances, and the convention being that British butlers are known by their surnames, it was unclear whether Jarvis was his father's first or last name, the latter case which would have made Alfred's name Alfred Jarvis. Whether by coincidence or not, the name "Jarvis" was later used for the Avengers' butler, Edwin Jarvis, a character with many similarities to Alfred.

Alfred's name was later given officially as Alfred Beagle. This name was subsequently given to an alternative version of the character from the world of Earth-Two, and Pennyworth became Alfred's accepted surname in the mainstream continuity. Alfred has also used the alias “Thaddeus Crane”, which is derived from his middle names. His full name of Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth was depicted on his tombstone in Superman/Batman: Generations.

The Beagle surname was brought back into continuity (post-Crisis on Infinite Earths but pre-Infinite Crisis) as Alfred's original name as an actor and Cold War spy. He adopted the "Pennyworth" surname after his brief intelligence career, based on a comment from his handler that his life was not even worth a penny (in reference to a cyanide pill concealed within a fake penny).

Grant Morrison's run has referred to the Beagle surname as a possible stage name.