Girl · #466 in 2026

Alison

Name: Popularity of the name Alison in U.S. births, 1880–2026
Creator: U.S. Social Security Administration
License: https://www.ssa.gov/foia/
Keywords: Alison, baby name, popularity, U.S., SSA, rankings

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.

Current Rank

#466

Peak Rank

#96 (1980)

Total Babies

118K

5-Yr Trend

-10%

1905

First Year

2026

Last Year

1980

Peak Year

#96

Peak Rank

118K

Total Count

118

Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Alison

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

The Story of Alison

Alison first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1905, with 7 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1980, when 2,980 Alisons were born — ranking #101 that year. As of 2026, Alison ranks #466 for baby girls with 663 births, gradually falling (-10%). In total, more than 118K Alisons have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1900s through the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

Top 10

11-50

51-100

101-500

500+

No data

Names that sound like Alison

Phonetically similar names — useful when Alison is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Alison

What does the name Alison mean?

How popular is Alison in 2026?

In 2026, Alison ranks #466 among girls' names in the U.S., with 663 babies given the name that year.

When was Alison most popular?

Alison reached its peak popularity in 1980, ranking #96 that year with 2,980 babies given the name.

In which U.S. states is Alison most popular?

Alison has historically been most popular in Delaware, Vermont, South Dakota. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Alison.

Is Alison a unisex name?

In U.S. Social Security records, Alison is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.

What names go well with Alison?

Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Alison include Ollie, Inez, Christie. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

About the name Alison

Alison is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1905 and has accumulated 118K births in the dataset. Alison's peak popularity came in 1980 when it ranked #96. Use the chart and map above to compare Alison's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.