girl's name
Alison
AL-i-son
- Origin French
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 150,344
the United States
#477
2025 births
Alison means little Alice, and Alice means noble — but the Norman name behind it is a heavy compression of the Germanic Adalheidis, so the noble is all that survived of a longer compound. Ireland ranks it 218th.
- Alison is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in 1986, when 3,000 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 5,108 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1905.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Alison over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 12 |
| 1910s | 158 |
| 1920s | 238 |
| 1930s | 385 |
| 1940s | 1,485 |
| 1950s | 6,241 |
| 1960s | 12,255 |
| 1970s | 22,198 |
| 1980s | 27,181 |
| 1990s | 19,794 |
| 2000s | 13,333 |
| 2010s | 10,167 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 4,034 |
What Alison means
Alison means little Alice, and Alice means noble kind or noble sort. The Germanic original joined a word for nobility to one meaning kind or type, and the second half was worn away.
Where Alison comes from
Alison is a Norman French diminutive of Alice, which compresses the Germanic Adalheidis — adal, noble, joined to heid, a kind or sort. That original survives intact as Adelaide, so Alice and Adelaide are the same name at different stages of erosion, which is why they look nothing alike. Alison arrived in Britain with the Normans and became particularly Scottish; Chaucer uses it twice in the Canterbury Tales. The single-l spelling is the older, and Allison is a later American doubling.
Alison in use
Alison peaked in the United States in 1986, when 3,000 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 218th in Ireland on 20 births — its strongest market by a wide margin — then 477th in the United States on 649, 1661st in France and 1751st in England and Wales, across 150,344 lifetime births in five of the seven markets we track.
How popular is Alison?
In 2025, Alison was given to 649 babies in the United States, ranking #477 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Alison is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Alison
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Alison also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Alison over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
3 nicknames for Alison
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Alison in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Alison
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Alison — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Alison
What does the name Alison mean?
Little Alice — and Alice means noble kind, from the Germanic Adalheidis.
Are Alice and Adelaide the same name?
Yes, at different stages of erosion. Adelaide kept the full compound; Alice wore away the second half.
Is it Alison or Allison?
Alison is the older spelling; Allison is a later American doubling.
Where is Alison most used?
Ireland at 218th, well ahead of the United States at 477th.
How popular is the name Alison?
In 2025, Alison was given to 649 babies in the United States, ranking #477 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Alison a girl's or a boy's name?
Alison is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Alison?
Alison has 3 syllables.
When was Alison most popular?
Alison peaked in 1986, when 3,000 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Alison?
Alison is usually shortened to Ali, Allie and Ally.
Is Alison a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Alison currently ranks #218 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.