home > girl names > alison

Alison - Origin and Meaning of the name

 
 

 



[ 3 syll. a-li-son, al-is-on ] The girl name Alison is pronounced AELahSahN KEY. Alison has its origins in the Old French language. It is used largely in the English, French, and Scottish languages. The name was originally a Norman French pet form of Alice, formed by appending the diminutive suffix -on. It was popular in the medieval period in the forms Alyson or Alysoun, but its popularity outside of Scotland declined sharply after the 15th century, and the name consequently gained a strong Scottish flavor. The name saw a revival among English speakers in the 20th century, and its Scottish associations gradually diminished. In literature, the name was borne by a character in The Miller's Tale (1387), the second of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.

Forms of Alison include Al (English), Alisanne (English), Alisoun (English), Allison (English, French, and Scottish), Allyson (English), Alysanne (English), Alyson (English), Alysoun (English), and Alysson (English). Other variants of Alison include the short form Ali (), and the pet forms Alie (Dutch), Allie (English), and Ally (English). See also the related form, Alice (English and German).

Alison is popular as a baby girl name. The name's popularity rose from the 1940s up to the 1970s. At the peak of its usage in 1979, 0.170% of baby girls were given the name Alison. It had a ranking of #102 then. The baby name has fallen in popularity since then. In 2007, it ranked at #288 with a usage of 0.056%. Out of the family of girl names directly linked to Alison, Allison (English, French, and Scottish) was the most popular. It was 5 times more popular than Alison in 2007.

Baby names that sound like Alison include Allison (English, French, and Scottish), Allyson (English), Alexene (English), Alexine (Greek), Alisanne (English), Alisoun (English), Alysanne (English), Alyson (English), Alysoun (English), Alysson (English), Alexena (English), and Alexina (English).

KEY: Pronunciation for Alison: AE as in "at (AE.T)" ; L as in "lee (L.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; S as in "sea (S.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)"


Details of famous persons named Alison:
Actress Alison Steadman, born August 26, 1946, Liverpool, England.
Author Alison Uttley, born Alice Jane Taylor 17 December 1884 - 7 May 1976, Cromford, England.
Country Musician Alison Krauss, born 23 July 1971, Decatur, Illinois.
Singer Alison Moyet, born Genevieve Alison Jane Moyet 18 June 1961, Billericay, Essex, England.

Popularity Trend
for Alison
from 1900 to 2007Variant Popularity Chart
for Alison
in 2007

Meaning of Alison Meaning of Ali Meaning of Allie Meaning of Ally Meaning of Alysoun Meaning of Alyson Meaning of Alysanne Meaning of Allyson Meaning of Allison Meaning of Alisoun Meaning of Alisanne Meaning of Al Meaning of Alysson Meaning of Alexandra Meaning of Ali Meaning of Alfreda Meaning of Allegra Meaning of Alva Meaning of Alvina Meaning of Alva Meaning of Allie Meaning of Alan Meaning of Al Meaning of Albert Meaning of Alexander Meaning of Alfred Meaning of Alberta Meaning of Alvin Meaning of Alice Meaning of Alysia Meaning of Alysha Meaning of Alysa Meaning of Alyssa Meaning of Allyssa Meaning of Alycia Meaning of Alissa Meaning of Alisha Meaning of Alicia Meaning of Adelaide Meaning of Elicia Meaning of Alecia Meaning of Alesha Meaning of Licia Meaning of Ailsa