Allison

Did you know?

A few things about Allison you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Allison

Allison Janney

American actress (born 1959)

Choose Allison and your child shares a first name with Allison Janney, an American actress. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Allison, like who?” Allison Janney's Wikipedia article is available in 63 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Allison Janney on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: VailFilmFest, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 627 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Allison, 2,564 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Allison would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryAllison has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Allisons, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 2009, when it ranked #30. Today it's #103, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📉Then vs nowAllison was 2.2× more common in 2000 than it is today. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 288 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 627.
• 🍂TrendAllison has slipped 23 places over the last five years and now sits at #103. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 📍Where it's lovedAllison is most popular in Texas, where it ranks #50, followed by Nevada (#53) and Florida (#72). It makes the top 1,000 in almost every state.
• 💬MeaningAllison is a French form of Alice, which means “noble”. Our records link it to English, German and Old French roots.
• 🌍OriginAllison is the #2 most popular Old French girl name in the US. That's out of 20 Old French girl and unisex names in our list.

About the name Allison

Allison is a girl name of English, German and Old French origin meaning “noble”. It has 7 letters and 3 syllables, starting with A and ending in “-son”. US birth records list Allison for girls from 1908 to 2025, in 117 of those 118 years. Its best year was 2009, when it ranked #30 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #103, with 2,564 babies.

Origin:English namesGerman namesOld French names