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Allison

Girl name · 777 babies recorded · 1974–2025

Allison: 777 babies born in Scotland since 1974, given to girls, peaking at 73 births in 1975.

The name Allison is a Scottish and English variant of Alison, itself a medieval Norman French diminutive of Alice, ultimately from the Germanic name Adalheidis, meaning “noble kind” or “noble nature.” Famous bearers include Oscar-winning American actress Allison Janney, celebrated for her roles in *The West Wing* and *I, Tonya*, and bluegrass legend Alison Krauss, whose angelic voice has won 27 Grammys. While fewer place connections exist, Allison has been used as a surname for towns like Allison Park in Pennsylvania. The name shares its noble root with Alice and Adelaide, and in Scotland it has been consistently popular since the 1970s, often spelled with two L’s to distinguish it from the more traditional Alison—a tidy example of how a single letter can shift a name’s modern identity.