girls' name ★ peaked 1994

Allison

Gender Girl · 1% boys Rank 2025 #103 Trend ↓ Falling 21%

From a Middle English diminutive form of Alan, Alexander or Alice +‎ -son.

Rank 2025
#103
among girls · ↓4 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
2,570
named Allison · -3% vs 2024
How common
1 in 627
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1994
8,163 babies
All-time total
322,944
#123 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Allison popularity over time

322,944 babies have been named Allison since 1880, 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
1.252.53.75518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
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 – 70 70 7 – –
1890s – 80 80 8 +14% –
1900s 6 88 94 9 +18% #1,873
1910s 145 431 576 58 +513% #1,412
1920s 227 610 837 84 +45% #1,279
1930s 236 423 659 66 -21% #1,307
1940s 680 384 1,064 106 +61% #705
1950s 4,553 383 4,936 494 +364% #264
1960s 16,525 403 16,928 1,693 +243% #128
1970s 34,158 252 34,410 3,441 +103% #66
1980s 62,327 315 62,642 6,264 +82% #42
1990s 74,433 147 74,580 7,458 +19% #34
2000s 59,966 131 60,097 6,010 -19% #30
2010s 49,003 76 49,079 4,908 -18% #34
2020s (to 2025) 16,860 32 16,892 2,815 -43% #80

Where Allison 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 2,463 1.53 #110
2027 2,380 1.48 #115
2028 2,312 1.44 #118
2029 2,256 1.40 #121
2030 2,209 1.37 #129

Where Allison is most popular

Girls named Allison per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 1.69 per 1,000. Strongest in Delaware, New Mexico, and Texas.

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 Allison 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
Delaware 45 3.97 +135%
New Mexico 89 3.66 +117%
Texas 2,245 2.79 +65%
Nevada 126 2.71 +61%
Maryland 285 2.69 +59%
Montana 36 2.66 +57%
Florida 1,068 2.50 +48%
California 2,020 2.40 +42%
Oklahoma 175 2.38 +41%
Alaska 20 2.32 +38%
Virginia 394 2.31 +37%
Tennessee 364 2.30 +36%
Kansas 131 2.27 +34%
Kentucky 193 2.26 +34%
Arizona 312 2.22 +32%
West Virginia 56 2.14 +27%
Wyoming 9 2.11 +25%
Idaho 69 2.06 +22%
Colorado 228 2.04 +21%
Georgia 458 2.02 +19%
Arkansas 104 1.97 +17%
North Carolina 445 1.95 +16%
Alabama 183 1.95 +15%
New Jersey 350 1.94 +15%
South Carolina 173 1.92 +14%
Oregon 123 1.89 +12%
Nebraska 67 1.86 +10%
Illinois 426 1.86 +10%
District of Columbia 22 1.86 +10%
Washington 266 1.84 +9%
Indiana 252 1.79 +6%
Maine 27 1.75 ≈ national
Mississippi 81 1.73 ≈ national
Wisconsin 176 1.71 ≈ national
Missouri 203 1.68 ≈ national
Utah 139 1.67 ≈ national
New York 625 1.58 -7%
Iowa 89 1.52 -10%
Louisiana 130 1.49 -12%
Minnesota 160 1.48 -12%
Michigan 268 1.47 -13%
South Dakota 21 1.47 -13%
Massachusetts 173 1.43 -15%
Pennsylvania 338 1.43 -15%
Ohio 333 1.40 -17%
Connecticut 76 1.31 -23%
New Hampshire 24 1.30 -23%
Rhode Island 12 0.958 -43%
North Dakota 6 0.456 -73%
Hawaii 5 0.436 -74%
Vermont – – –

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 Allison

Allison is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #103 in 2025 with 2,564 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 322,944 American babies have been named Allison. Its peak came in 1994, when 8,163 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1990s.

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 Allison stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Allison?

The median living Allison is about 30 years old; half are between 17 and 41. An estimated 313 thousand people named Allison are alive in the United States today.

median 30 020406080100

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

Allison 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 2,564 #103 6 #10,756
2024 2,631 #99 8 #9,026
2023 2,650 #100 – –
2022 2,714 #101 6 #10,931
2021 3,140 #82 6 #10,862
2020 3,161 #80 6 #10,661
2019 3,440 #78 5 #12,230
2018 3,694 #70 8 #8,856
2017 4,037 #61 – –
2016 4,786 #50 5 #12,283
2015 5,356 #39 10 #7,516
2014 5,476 #39 9 #8,163
2013 5,446 #34 12 #6,620
2012 5,428 #38 8 #8,895
2011 5,472 #40 10 #7,523
2010 5,868 #38 9 #8,176
2009 6,581 #30 10 #7,711
2008 6,241 #32 19 #4,905
2007 5,454 #46 5 #12,444
2006 5,564 #47 6 #10,733
2005 5,634 #45 13 #5,885
2004 5,873 #40 24 #3,738
2003 5,850 #46 10 #6,738
2002 6,239 #44 16 #4,712
2001 6,215 #44 19 #4,130
2000 6,315 #44 9 #6,858
1995 8,126 #34 21 #3,194
1990 7,136 #48 24 #2,699
1985 7,028 #46 27 #2,072
1980 4,868 #59 28 #1,966
1975 3,347 #89 20 #2,206
1970 2,630 #133 27 #1,658
1965 3,044 #128 35 #1,295
1960 1,068 #277 54 #1,045
1955 340 #498 36 #1,256
1950 157 #681 39 #1,139
1945 47 #1,142 36 #1,080
1940 24 #1,592 34 #1,137
1935 31 #1,307 45 #941
1930 17 #2,026 48 #977
1925 18 #2,120 68 #801
1920 23 #1,754 57 #911
1915 13 #2,257 48 #893
1910 5 #2,415 11 #983
1905 – – 7 #1,004
1900 – – 9 #903
1895 – – 8 #797
1890 – – 11 #604
1885 – – 10 #605
1880 – – 6 #812

Famous people named Allison

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

  1. 1 Allison Janney Allison Janney American actress (born 1959) Contemporary
  2. 2 Allison Mack Allison Mack American actress (born 1982) Contemporary
  3. 3 Allison Tolman Allison Tolman American actress b. 1981 · Contemporary
  4. 4 Allison Williams Allison Williams American actress (born 1988) Contemporary
  5. 5 Allison Scagliotti Allison Scagliotti American actress and musician (born 1990) Contemporary
  6. 6 Allison Miller Allison Miller American actress (born 1985) Contemporary
  7. 7 Allison Iraheta Allison Iraheta American singer (born 1992) Contemporary
  8. 8 Allison Schmitt Allison Schmitt American swimmer (born 1990) Contemporary
  9. 9 Allison Beveridge Allison Beveridge Canadian cyclist (born 1993) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Allison?

The median living Allison is about 30 years old. Half of all living Allisons are between 17 and 41 years old.

How many people named Allison are alive today?

An estimated 313 thousand people named Allison are alive in the United States, based on 322,944 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Allison mean?

From a Middle English diminutive form of Alan, Alexander or Alice +‎ -son.

How popular is the name Allison in 2025?

Allison ranked #103 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 2,564 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Allison?

322,944 babies have been named Allison in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Allison most popular?

Allison peaked in 1994, when 8,163 newborns received the name.

Is Allison a boy or girl name?

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

Is the name Allison rising or falling?

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

Will Allison become more popular?

Allison is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 2,209 girls named Allison in 2030, which would rank around #129. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Allison?

Well-known people named Allison include Allison Janney (actor), Allison Mack (actor), Allison Tolman (actor).

Names like Allison

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

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