girls' name ★ peaked 1986

Alison

Gender Girl · 1% boys Rank 2025 #476 Trend → Stable

From Middle English Alisoun, from Old French Alison, brought to England by the Normans (from Anglo-Norman Alison, from Norman Alison), diminutive of Aliz, equivalent to…

Rank 2025
#476
among girls · ↓11 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
649
named Alison · -4% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,496
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1986
3,000 babies
All-time total
117,481
#331 all-time among girls
First recorded
1905
in Social Security records

Alison popularity over time

117,481 babies have been named Alison since 1905, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.511.5218801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s 12 – 12 1 – #1,544
1910s 134 24 158 16 +1217% #1,345
1920s 198 40 238 24 +51% #1,503
1930s 367 18 385 39 +62% #961
1940s 1,450 35 1,485 149 +286% #449
1950s 6,216 25 6,241 624 +320% #254
1960s 12,233 22 12,255 1,226 +96% #221
1970s 22,070 128 22,198 2,220 +81% #102
1980s 27,018 163 27,181 2,718 +22% #96
1990s 19,729 65 19,794 1,979 -27% #132
2000s 13,286 47 13,333 1,333 -33% #228
2010s 10,150 17 10,167 1,017 -24% #253
2020s (to 2025) 4,023 11 4,034 672 -34% #440

Where Alison is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 635 0.40 #481
2027 627 0.39 #482
2028 621 0.39 #483
2029 616 0.38 #487
2030 611 0.38 #488

Where Alison is most popular

Girls named Alison per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.410 per 1,000. Strongest in Rhode Island, Nebraska, and Maryland.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Alison born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Rhode Island 12 0.958 +134%
Nebraska 30 0.835 +104%
Maryland 78 0.736 +80%
California 588 0.700 +71%
New Mexico 16 0.658 +61%
Arizona 91 0.649 +58%
Oklahoma 46 0.625 +53%
Texas 498 0.619 +51%
Oregon 39 0.599 +46%
New Jersey 106 0.587 +43%
Tennessee 87 0.549 +34%
Idaho 18 0.538 +31%
Georgia 119 0.524 +28%
New York 205 0.518 +26%
Nevada 24 0.517 +26%
Colorado 55 0.493 +20%
Minnesota 52 0.482 +18%
Wisconsin 49 0.476 +16%
Florida 199 0.465 +14%
Massachusetts 53 0.438 +7%
Arkansas 23 0.435 +6%
South Carolina 38 0.423 ≈ national
Connecticut 24 0.413 ≈ national
North Carolina 92 0.404 ≈ national
Virginia 68 0.399 ≈ national
Illinois 91 0.398 ≈ national
Alabama 37 0.394 ≈ national
Louisiana 34 0.388 -5%
Maine 6 0.388 -5%
Washington 55 0.381 -7%
Indiana 49 0.349 -15%
Kansas 19 0.329 -20%
Ohio 76 0.320 -22%
Utah 26 0.312 -24%
Pennsylvania 71 0.300 -27%
Missouri 33 0.274 -33%
Iowa 13 0.222 -46%
Mississippi 10 0.214 -48%
Michigan 37 0.203 -50%
Kentucky 16 0.187 -54%
Alaska – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Alison

Alison is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #476 in 2025 with 644 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1905, 117,481 American babies have been named Alison. Its peak came in 1986, when 3,000 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1980s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Alison stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Alison?

The median living Alison is about 39 years old; half are between 26 and 50. An estimated 112 thousand people named Alison are alive in the United States today.

median 39 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Alison year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 644 #476 5 #12,100
2024 674 #465 – –
2023 654 #471 – –
2022 692 #458 6 #10,929
2021 660 #473 – –
2020 699 #440 – –
2019 758 #413 – –
2018 770 #400 – –
2017 816 #383 – –
2016 974 #343 – –
2015 967 #339 – –
2014 1,118 #292 – –
2013 1,072 #298 6 #10,790
2012 1,184 #275 5 #12,356
2011 1,272 #253 6 #10,864
2010 1,219 #269 – –
2009 1,448 #228 9 #8,330
2008 1,247 #275 7 #9,903
2007 1,170 #290 10 #7,617
2006 1,217 #272 5 #12,127
2005 1,256 #260 – –
2004 1,433 #229 5 #11,420
2003 1,413 #233 6 #9,622
2002 1,361 #232 – –
2001 1,360 #233 – –
2000 1,381 #231 5 #10,417
1995 1,952 #162 – –
1990 2,363 #132 13 #4,176
1985 2,829 #97 8 #4,714
1980 2,980 #101 14 #3,098
1975 2,267 #127 16 #2,543
1970 1,763 #187 8 #3,530
1965 1,461 #221 – –
1960 1,267 #246 – –
1955 545 #378 – –
1950 353 #428 7 #3,027
1945 120 #678 5 #3,342
1940 42 #1,114 – –
1935 35 #1,199 – –
1930 24 #1,609 – –
1925 14 #2,491 7 #3,422
1920 10 #3,099 7 #3,498
1915 16 #1,964 – –
1910 5 #2,412 – –
1905 7 #1,544 – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Alison

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Alison Brie Alison Brie American actress and writer (born 1982) Contemporary
  2. 2 Alison Krauss Alison Krauss American musician and producer (born 1971) Contemporary
  3. 3 Alison Sweeney Alison Sweeney American actress (born 1976) Contemporary
  4. 4 Alison Pill Alison Pill Canadian actress (born 1985) Contemporary
  5. 5 Alison Moyet Alison Moyet English singer (born 1961) Contemporary
  6. 6 Alison Doody Alison Doody Irish actress and model (born 1966) Contemporary
  7. 7 Alison Eastwood Alison Eastwood American film director and actress b. 1972 · Contemporary
  8. 8 Alison Steadman Alison Steadman British actress (born 1946) Contemporary
  9. 9 Alison Lohman Alison Lohman American actress (born 1979) Contemporary
  10. 10 Alison Sudol Alison Sudol American actress and musician (born 1984) Contemporary
  11. 11 Alison Balsom Alison Balsom English trumpet player (born 1978) Contemporary
  12. 12 Alison Bechdel Alison Bechdel American cartoonist (born 1960) Contemporary
  13. 13 Alison Elliott American actress (born 1970) Contemporary
  14. 14 Alison Lurie Alison Lurie American novelist and academic (1926–2020) Contemporary
  15. 15 Alison Carroll Alison Carroll English gymnast, model and actress b. 1985 · Contemporary
  16. 16 Alison Van Uytvanck Alison Van Uytvanck Belgian former tennis player (born 1994) Contemporary
  17. 17 Alison Riske Alison Riske American tennis player (born 1990) Contemporary
  18. 18 Alison Cerutti Alison Cerutti Brazilian beach volleyball player b. 1985 · Contemporary
  19. 19 Alison Sydor Alison Sydor Canadian cyclist b. 1966 · Contemporary
  20. 20 Alison Henrique Mira Brazilian footballer b. 1995 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Alison, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Alison?

The median living Alison is about 39 years old. Half of all living Alisons are between 26 and 50 years old.

How many people named Alison are alive today?

An estimated 112 thousand people named Alison are alive in the United States, based on 117,481 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Alison mean?

From Middle English Alisoun, from Old French Alison, brought to England by the Normans (from Anglo-Norman Alison, from Norman Alison), diminutive of Aliz, equivalent to English Alice, from Old High German Adalhaid (“of noble…

How popular is the name Alison in 2025?

Alison ranked #476 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 644 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Alison?

117,481 babies have been named Alison in the United States since 1905, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Alison most popular?

Alison peaked in 1986, when 3,000 newborns received the name.

Is Alison a boy or girl name?

Alison is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Alison rising or falling?

Alison is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Alison become more popular?

Alison looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 611 girls named Alison in 2030, ranking around #488. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Alison?

Well-known people named Alison include Alison Brie (actor), Alison Krauss (musician), Alison Sweeney (actor).

Names like Alison

Names that sound and feel close to Alison: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Alison with similar names → More names starting with A →