Alison (given name)


Alison is a female given name in English-speaking countries. It was originally a medieval French nickname for Alis / Alys, an old form of Alice derived with the suffix -on or -son sometimes used in the former French nicknames. The Middle English form was Alisoun.
The variant spelling Allison is the most common form in the United States. Other variations include Alisson, Allisson, Allyson, Allysson, Alyson, Alysson, Alicen and Alycen, with nicknames Allie, Alley, Alie, Ali, Ally, Aly, Al, Aley and Alli.
Allison also has separate, disputed roots as a family name. Men were named Alison from the transferred use of surnames as first names.
Alison, variant form Alizon, is also a French surname.

Popularity

The name is first recorded in Scotland in the 12th century. It was popular until the early 19th century and, spelled Allison, was the 45th most common name given to baby girls in the United States in 2005. In 1990 in the United States, Allison was the 228th most popular name for women of all ages; Alison was #347, Allyson, #775; Alyson, #981; Allie, #764; Ali, #2434; and Alice, #51. Alison in any spelling did not enter the top 100 baby names in 2005 in England and Wales.
Allison last entered the top 1000 baby names for males in the United States in 1946, when it ranked #968. In the 1910s it ranked from 667 to 981, and in the first decade of the 20th century, it ranked as high as #927.
In Lusophone countries like Brazil and Portugal, Alison and variant forms are also used as masculine given names.

People named Alison

Male

Fictional