Allison Name Meaning

A name with familiarity and great nickname potential, Allison has been wooing parents since shooting into the Top 100 in the 1970s. A steady fixture on the name circuit, she’s a beautiful pick with German roots and the lovely meaning of “noble one.”

A variant of Alison, Allison has always been the more popular spelling of the two, her double L on-trend with Kelly, Lilly, and Stella. She also fits in the rise of the -son names for girls as seen in Madison, Addison, and Emerson. She has the delightful nickname picks of Allie, Alice, and Lissie, though she can go without a nickname if you choose.

While she’s been in the Top 100 for a number of years, she doesn’t feel dated or overused in any way. She’s graduated from being the new kid on the block to a familiar face, wearing well in the classroom. She’s also immune to feeling timestamped, working well on children and adults alike.

Allison doesn’t feel at all stuffy, though she is mature. She lacks the in-the-clouds vibe that some names have, remaining grounded and steadfast in life. She’s a name of determination, set on making strides and achieving goals. Allison isn’t one for playing games, though she doesn’t mind a laugh or two when the time is right.

Infographic of Allison name meaning, which is A derivative of Alison, Allison means noble or exalted one.
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Allison Name Popularity

How popular is the name Allison? Here’s everything we know.

Year Rank # Births % Births
1910 — 0 0%
1911 — 0 0%
1912 — 0 0%
1913 — 0 0%
1914 — 0 0%
1915 — 0 0%
1916 1,460 5 0.0005%
1917 — 0 0%
1918 — 0 0%
1919 1,603 5 0.0005%
1920 — 0 0%
1921 1,379 9 0.0008%
1922 — 0 0%
1923 — 0 0%
1924 1,766 5 0.0004%
1925 — 0 0%
1926 1,719 5 0.0005%
1927 — 0 0%
1928 — 0 0%
1929 — 0 0%
1930 1,429 6 0.0006%
1931 1,604 5 0.0005%
1932 — 0 0%
1933 — 0 0%
1934 — 0 0%
1935 1,418 6 0.0006%
1936 1,297 7 0.0007%
1937 — 0 0%
1938 — 0 0%
1939 — 0 0%
1940 — 0 0%
1941 — 0 0%
1942 1,597 5 0.0004%
1943 1,395 10 0.0008%
1944 1,425 7 0.0006%
1945 1,039 22 0.0018%
1946 1,060 27 0.0018%
1947 1,012 38 0.0023%
1948 825 64 0.004%
1949 764 85 0.0053%
1950 690 107 0.0066%
1951 534 196 0.0116%
1952 547 198 0.0113%
1953 536 214 0.0121%
1954 528 235 0.0129%
1955 513 279 0.0152%
1956 467 348 0.0184%
1957 439 415 0.0216%
1958 283 955 0.0505%
1959 262 1,101 0.0579%
1960 279 1,037 0.0547%
1961 260 1,156 0.0612%
1962 238 1,297 0.0706%
1963 231 1,407 0.0784%
1964 181 2,070 0.1176%
1965 128 3,037 0.1857%
1966 185 1,754 0.1123%
1967 208 1,442 0.095%
1968 201 1,518 0.1011%
1969 193 1,642 0.1066%
1970 133 2,618 0.1645%
1971 119 3,011 0.2004%
1972 115 2,791 0.2049%
1973 105 2,894 0.2232%
1974 99 2,952 0.2271%
1975 89 3,342 0.2601%
1976 67 4,032 0.3128%
1977 66 4,206 0.312%
1978 75 3,862 0.2873%
1979 70 4,410 0.3128%
1980 59 4,870 0.3331%
1981 57 4,902 0.3335%
1982 58 5,169 0.3459%
1983 59 4,972 0.3369%
1984 51 6,038 0.4059%
1985 46 7,029 0.4631%
1986 42 7,576 0.5019%
1987 44 7,340 0.481%
1988 46 7,142 0.4583%
1989 45 7,286 0.4515%
1990 48 7,132 0.4303%
1991 50 6,772 0.4155%
1992 48 6,901 0.4323%
1993 41 7,727 0.4956%
1994 34 8,150 0.5311%
1995 34 8,126 0.5392%
1996 38 7,453 0.4978%
1997 39 7,274 0.4918%
1998 38 7,861 0.5252%
1999 39 7,025 0.4691%
2000 44 6,314 0.4133%
2001 44 6,211 0.4122%
2002 44 6,240 0.4164%
2003 46 5,850 0.3845%
2004 40 5,872 0.3853%
2005 45 5,634 0.3685%
2006 47 5,562 0.3552%
2007 46 5,453 0.3456%
2008 32 6,238 0.4036%
2009 30 6,581 0.4403%
2010 38 5,860 0.4066%
2011 40 5,465 0.3836%
2012 38 5,417 0.3801%
2013 34 5,433 0.3816%
2014 39 5,467 0.3752%
2015 39 5,337 0.3668%
2016 50 4,763 0.3303%
2017 60 4,008 0.2872%
2018 69 3,672 0.2673%
2019 77 3,413 0.2521%
2020 80 3,086 0.2424%
2021 81 2,915 0.2385%
2022 102 2,677 0.2029%

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Data via SSA.gov.

Names Like Allison

If you like Allison, you’ll love these other names like Allison.

What names are diminutives of Allison?

A diminutive is a name that’s like Allison sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Allison, but shorter.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Ali

Exalted

Arabic

Alice

Of nobility

German

Alley

Variant of Allie

English

Allie

Shortened Al- name form

English

Ally

Noble, bright, famous; man's defender; noble, exalted

Greek

Lissie

Rational; from the blessed isles; God's promise; God is my oath

Hebrew

What names are variants of Allison?

Mix it up with these names that are a variation of the name Allison.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Alisan

Noble, exalted

German

Alison

Noble one

German

Alisoun

Noble, exalted

German

Alisun

Noble, exalted

German

Allicen

Noble, exalted

German

Allis

Noble, exalted

German

Allisa

Great happiness

Hebrew

Allisah

Great happiness

Hebrew

Allisann

Noble, exalted

German

Allisoun

Noble, exalted

German

Alliss

Noble, exalted

German

Allissa

Noble, exalted; great happiness; rational; from the blessed isles

Hebrew

Allisun

Noble, exalted

German

Allyson

Noble, exalted

German

Allysoun

Noble, exalted

German

What names sound like Allison?

If you like how Allison sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Allison.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Addison

Son of Adam

English

Adison

Son of Adam

English

Aleah

Rising, ascending

Hebrew

What names are similar to Allison?

Find a name that’s like Allison, but just a little bit different.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Ashley

Ash tree meadow

English

Caroline

Free woman

French

Christina

Follower of Christ

Greek

Emily

To excel

Latin

Heather

“The maiden from the heath,” in allusion to the heather-covered wastelands in the British isles.

English

Jennifer

Fair magical being

English

Julia

Youthful and downy

Latin

Madeline

Woman from Magdala

English

Rebecca

To join

Hebrew

Samantha

Name of God

Hebrew

Lists With Allison

Find inspiration in these baby girl name lists featuring the name Allison.

Siblings of Allison

Mamas with kids named Allison also have kids with these names.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Brielle

God is my strength

French

Jocelyn

Member of the Gauts

German

Cordell

Cord maker

French

Summer

Summer season

English

Treyden

18 Comments

  1. I liked the name

    Reply

  2. LOL, I always went by Ally or Ally cat becuz I found out early on that I WAS NAMED AFTER MY FATHER… MY PARENTS HATED ME ? but I guess I pull it off great. Idk ???

    Reply

  3. I’ve always loved the name since the first time I heard it when I was a little girl. My boyfriend also loved the name and it was the first one we both liked.

    Reply

  4. My name is Allison and I think my name is so cute because it means noble and I’m pretty I’m pretty noble and I really like to exercise and I’m really brave and I really like the meaning of my name because it’s beautiful and it sounds great for me and I just can’t stop the feeling of calling myself Allison or Alice I mean it’s so cute because I like the letter A and it’s the first letter and I’m one of like the top students in my high school and that I really like it because all the popular girls are like jealous and they’re just of my name because it’s a beautiful and I can agree and my mom always says your name is beautiful as a pie and so my my name is Allison Ruiz Ramirez and it’s an Alison is a German name and I really was expecting it to be an Irish name but when I searched it up it turned out that he was a German name I have to say they love my name they think it’s cool and that’s how we can became BFFs Bye

    Reply

  5. my name means noble

    Reply

  6. Omg!! My friend’s name is allison!???She will be soooooo happy about this! Also I can annoy her by calling her alice in wonderland lol???

    Reply

  7. Love u baby girl

    Reply

    • pretty gay dude

      Reply

  8. Went well with our last name and could be shortened later if she chose!

    Reply

  9. Her name is allison jade. I just want a name that is not cute for the baby. I want her name to be sounds like a brave girl, sexy and bold. And it is starting with letter A because its my first name letter. Jade is comes from her dad, jodel. Jadel is the original name but then i change it to jade.

    Reply

  10. My middle name is Allison (named Beth Allison) I was born in 1957, When I had my daughter we decide on our middle names, Mine was Allison and my ex’s was Lee. She was born in 1980, and she had no one else with the name, when she did meet other Allisons they were usually Alison or Allyson. The ONLY rule I had about her name was she was NOT to be called Allie or Al, for one I don’t like the actress Ali MacGraw who was very popular in the 80’s. I do think the name Allison is such a beautiful sound. And even when she got in trouble saying “Allison Lee stop that” sounds so beautiful.

    Reply

  11. I love this name! This is my 6 month old daughter’s name. Me and my Wife had a long list of names we were fixed on and chose this name when we saw our daughter after birth, it just fit her. Our beautiful sunshine little Allison. Her nickname is Allie Bear

    Reply

    • I love Allie bear that is so cute.

      Reply

  12. I just liked the sound of this one. My OB that has delivered all Three of my children is also named Allison so it fit great for us.

    Reply

  13. Choosing a name was so challenging! We went to the hospital with our top two names and didn’t officially decide until the day after she was born. My husband suggested Allison at some point after finding out we were having a girl and it stuck with me. I liked that it was classic but not common and could be paired with a cute, but not too cutesy nickname, Allie. Her middle name is Faye, after my grandma’s middle name.

    Reply

    • That’s so beautiful. Allison Faye sounds great 🙂

      Reply

  14. It’s a great name because it calls for attention and directness toward something

    Reply

  15. I chose the name Allison because I Nick name her Alice like off Alice in wonderland. One of my childhood movies. I don’t like the way her middle name is spelled but it’s not that big of a deal.

    Reply

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