Given name & surname
Alison
“the son of a noble”
Alison is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “the son of a noble.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “the son of a noble.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
How it developed
Alison is a diminutive of Alice.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1905. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Alison is a diminutive of Alice. The history of Alice gives this family its wider story. Alice returned to wider use in the nineteenth century. Lewis Carroll’s two Alice stories gave it an enduring literary association; his heroine drew inspiration from Alice Liddell.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Alison through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 117,481
- 595 boys · 116,886 girls
- Most popular year
- 1986
- 3,000 babies
- 2025
- 649
- #476 for girls · #12,100 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −17%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 644 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 476 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 17.3% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 2,980 in 1980. It also appeared in 5 birth records for boys in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (107). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 111,220 as a first name in 2020; 819 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Alison’s family of names
Alison is a diminutive of Alice. In English usage, Alison has a related form in Allison. In English usage, Alison has a related form in Allison.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Alison has relatives in 5 languages. Lines run from its English roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 16
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 7
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Alison
- Alison BrieAmerican actress and writer (born 1982)
- Alison KraussAmerican musicianborn 1971
- Alison LohmanAmerican actressborn 1979
- Alison PillCanadian actress (born 1985)
- Alison SudolAmerican musicianborn 1984
- Alison BechdelAmerican cartoonist, authorborn 1960
- Alison Riske-AmritrajAmerican tennis playerborn 1990
- Alison dos SantosBrazilian hurdler (born 2000)
- Alison DoodyIrish actress and modelborn 1966
Characters named Alison: Alison DiLaurentis (the Pretty Little Liars book series).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Alison, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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Bailey
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