Girls' name · peaked in 1979
Alison name popularity since 1925
117,188 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Alison. Half of them were born in 1985 or earlier, so the typical Alison is about 41 years old in 2026. Alison peaked in 1979 as the #102 name for girls, and it ranked #476 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 117,188
- Named Alison, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #476
- for girls in 2025 (644 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.5% girls
- 116,645 girls · 543 boys
- Most popular in
- Connecticut
- 2.11× its national share
Peak year is the year Alison made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Alison births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1980. Measured as a share of all babies, Alison peaked in 1979.
- Fastest rise: Between 1957 and 1962, Alison became 2.6× more common, from 1 in 3,610 baby girls to 1 in 1,380.
- Steepest fall: Between 1986 and 1991, its share of baby girls fell by 34%, from 1 in 577 to 1 in 871.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Alison's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Alison.
Decade by decade
Babies named Alison in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 103 | 12 | – |
| 1930s | 367 | 18 | #1,199 |
| 1940s | 1,450 | 35 | #678 |
| 1950s | 6,216 | 25 | #378 |
| 1960s | 12,233 | 22 | #221 |
| 1970s | 22,070 | 128 | #127 |
| 1980s | 27,018 | 163 | #97 |
| 1990s | 19,729 | 65 | #162 |
| 2000s | 13,286 | 47 | #260 |
| 2010s | 10,150 | 17 | #339 |
| 2020–25 | 4,023 | 11 | #476 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
33.3% of babies named Alison from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Millennial years (1981–1996). The full split by generation:
Where Alison is most popular
The index compares Alison's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Alison.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Connecticut | 2.11× | 2,644 |
| Massachusetts | 1.94× | 5,343 |
| New Hampshire | 1.77× | 645 |
| Rhode Island | 1.58× | 649 |
| New Jersey | 1.56× | 4,978 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Alison and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Alison (this page) | 116,645 | 1979 |
| Allison | 318,856 | 1995 |
| Alyson | 29,730 | 1987 |
| Alisson | 7,044 | 2025 |
| Allisson | 2,842 | 2008 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Alison's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Alison.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Alison (1979).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data