Alison

#476 for girls in 2025, 644 births · #12,008 for boys in 2025, 5 births
Given to girls 99.5% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · girls
1986 · 2,975 births
Debut · girls
7 births
In top 100 · girls
3 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · girls
116,886
since 1905

Alison over time

girls

Rank among girls' names. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201978peak #96, 1986girls
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025#476644#12,0085
2024#465674—
2023#471654—
2022#458692#10,8636
2021#473660—
2020#440699—
2019#413758—
2018#400770—
2017#383816—
2016#343974—
2015#338967—
2014#2921,118—
2013#2981,072#10,7286
2012#2751,184#12,2745
2011#2531,272#10,8086
2010#2691,219—
2009#2281,448#8,3109
2008#2751,247#9,8717
2007#2901,170#7,59010
2006#2711,217#12,0555
2005#2601,256—
2004#2291,433#11,3565
2003#2331,413#9,5816
2002#2321,361—
2001#2331,360—
2000#2311,381#10,3495
1999#2021,527#6,5309
1998#1881,642#9,6315
1997#1731,763#7,2817
1996#1661,901—
1995#1621,952—
1994#1532,121#8,8005
1993#1412,241#7,6386
1992#1472,066#6,6707
1991#1422,153#4,23113
1990#1322,363#4,16713
1989#1192,488#2,41627
1988#1132,541#3,70513
1987#1002,771#3,07216
1986#962,975#2,22625
1985#972,829#4,6988
1984#1102,512#3,45912
1983#1162,491#3,23013
1982#1112,727#2,42620
1981#1132,704#2,89815
1980#1012,980#3,09814
1979#1022,938#3,16813
1978#1232,433#3,61410
1977#1222,372#3,03713
1976#1182,272#2,50817
1975#1272,267#2,54016
1974#1352,079#2,67414
1973#1461,928#3,22310
1972#1621,808#2,41815
1971#1432,210#2,81312
1970#1871,763#3,5218
1969#2691,077#4,4045
1968#291904—
1967#284895#3,5596
1966#270959—
1965#2211,461—
1964#2261,451—
1963#2341,389#4,0485
1962#2251,421#3,6406
1961#2311,409—
1960#2461,267—
1959#2541,197—
1958#281993—
1957#380567#3,5526
1956#359592—
1955#378545—
1954#344619#3,1767
1953#383492—
1952#393440#3,7345
1951#404418—
1950#428353#3,0217
1949#449316#3,0197
1948#497268#3,6685
1947#557233—
1946#540214#3,1736
1945#678120#3,3385
1944#86777#3,4305
1943#96567—
1942#87378#2,9407
1941#1,29435—
1940#1,11442—
1939#1,07944—
1938#1,09143—
1937#1,16038#3,1756
1936#96151—
1935#1,19735—
1934#97350#3,2776
1933#1,44226—
1932#1,21335—
1931#1,68621#3,3906
1930#1,60724—
1929#2,30114—
1928#1,50228#4,1515
1927#1,66925—
1926#1,83022—
1925#2,48914#3,4087
1924#1,81123#2,64111
1923#1,84022#4,2395
1922#1,89721—
1921#2,04819#4,3225
1920#3,09710#3,4897
1919#2,06317—
1918#2,02918#2,54311
1917#1,77320—
1916#2,13315—
1915#1,96416—
1914#1,34422#2,9156
1913#1,76612#2,2737
1912#1,9819—
1911——
1910#2,3985—
1909——
1908——
1907#2,0615—
1906——
1905#1,5387—
1904——
1903——
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1899——
1898——
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1896——
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First appearance
1905

The first year at least five girls were named Alison! It came in at #1,538, and was given to 7 baby girls.


Quietest stretch: 1906–1911, when fewer than 6 girls a year got the name.

Where Alison is popular in 1978

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: #149 for girls · 5 births · 1 in 498 girlsAKMaine: #73 for girls · 19 births · 1 in 311 girlsMEVermont: #76 for girls · 8 births · 1 in 307 girlsVTNew Hampshire: #66 for girls · 19 births · 1 in 247 girlsNHWashington: #92 for girls · 56 births · 1 in 410 girlsWAIdaho: #180 for girls · 8 births · 1 in 836 girlsIDMontana: #209 for girls · 5 births · 1 in 878 girlsMTNorth Dakota: #100 for girls · 10 births · 1 in 434 girlsNDMinnesota: #94 for girls · 57 births · 1 in 466 girlsMNIllinois: #139 for girls · 100 births · 1 in 709 girlsILWisconsin: #126 for girls · 42 births · 1 in 690 girlsWIMichigan: #131 for girls · 86 births · 1 in 669 girlsMINew York: #93 for girls · 230 births · 1 in 428 girlsNYMassachusetts: #57 for girls · 113 births · 1 in 262 girlsMARhode Island: #76 for girls · 15 births · 1 in 287 girlsRIOregon: #126 for girls · 27 births · 1 in 572 girlsORNevada: fewer than 5 girls named Alison, so not publishedNVWyoming: fewer than 5 girls named Alison, so not publishedWYSouth Dakota: #110 for girls · 9 births · 1 in 472 girlsSDIowa: #110 for girls · 36 births · 1 in 516 girlsIAIndiana: #140 for girls · 49 births · 1 in 710 girlsINOhio: #106 for girls · 134 births · 1 in 515 girlsOHPennsylvania: #105 for girls · 135 births · 1 in 489 girlsPANew Jersey: #74 for girls · 107 births · 1 in 339 girlsNJConnecticut: #53 for girls · 60 births · 1 in 236 girlsCTCalifornia: #144 for girls · 221 births · 1 in 694 girlsCAUtah: #102 for girls · 34 births · 1 in 446 girlsUTColorado: #138 for girls · 28 births · 1 in 618 girlsCONebraska: #104 for girls · 23 births · 1 in 427 girlsNEMissouri: #172 for girls · 35 births · 1 in 876 girlsMOKentucky: #110 for girls · 46 births · 1 in 519 girlsKYWest Virginia: #112 for girls · 22 births · 1 in 536 girlsWVVirginia: #137 for girls · 44 births · 1 in 633 girlsVAMaryland: #72 for girls · 54 births · 1 in 338 girlsMDDelaware: #56 for girls · 15 births · 1 in 185 girlsDEArizona: #147 for girls · 25 births · 1 in 655 girlsAZNew Mexico: #199 for girls · 10 births · 1 in 818 girlsNMKansas: #126 for girls · 24 births · 1 in 560 girlsKSArkansas: #200 for girls · 13 births · 1 in 968 girlsARTennessee: #148 for girls · 41 births · 1 in 680 girlsTNNorth Carolina: #113 for girls · 62 births · 1 in 522 girlsNCSouth Carolina: #133 for girls · 30 births · 1 in 568 girlsSCDistrict of Columbia: #74 for girls · 19 births · 1 in 291 girlsDCOklahoma: #156 for girls · 24 births · 1 in 709 girlsOKLouisiana: #136 for girls · 44 births · 1 in 625 girlsLAMississippi: #223 for girls · 15 births · 1 in 1,022 girlsMSAlabama: #138 for girls · 36 births · 1 in 604 girlsALGeorgia: #183 for girls · 36 births · 1 in 896 girlsGAHawaii: #92 for girls · 13 births · 1 in 350 girlsHITexas: #210 for girls · 99 births · 1 in 1,044 girlsTXFlorida: #114 for girls · 85 births · 1 in 518 girlsFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · girls
  1. Connecticut#53 · 1 in 236
  2. Delaware#56 · 1 in 185
  3. Massachusetts#57 · 1 in 262
  4. New Hampshire#66 · 1 in 247
  5. Maryland#72 · 1 in 338

Best ever in a state: #46 in Connecticut, 1977.

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
Connecticut#53601 in 236
Delaware#56151 in 185
Massachusetts#571131 in 262
New Hampshire#66191 in 247
Maryland#72541 in 338
Maine#73191 in 311
District of Columbia#74191 in 291
New Jersey#741071 in 339
Rhode Island#76151 in 287
Vermont#7681 in 307
Hawaii#92131 in 350
Washington#92561 in 410
New York#932301 in 428
Minnesota#94571 in 466
North Dakota#100101 in 434
Utah#102341 in 446
Nebraska#104231 in 427
Pennsylvania#1051351 in 489
Ohio#1061341 in 515
Iowa#110361 in 516
Kentucky#110461 in 519
South Dakota#11091 in 472
West Virginia#112221 in 536
North Carolina#113621 in 522
Florida#114851 in 518
Kansas#126241 in 560
Oregon#126271 in 572
Wisconsin#126421 in 690
Michigan#131861 in 669
South Carolina#133301 in 568
Louisiana#136441 in 625
Virginia#137441 in 633
Alabama#138361 in 604
Colorado#138281 in 618
Illinois#1391001 in 709
Indiana#140491 in 710
California#1442211 in 694
Arizona#147251 in 655
Tennessee#148411 in 680
Alaska#14951 in 498
Oklahoma#156241 in 709
Missouri#172351 in 876
Idaho#18081 in 836
Georgia#183361 in 896
New Mexico#199101 in 818
Arkansas#200131 in 968
Montana#20951 in 878
Texas#210991 in 1,044
Mississippi#223151 in 1,022
Nevada———
Wyoming———

Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the girls born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.

See more about Alison
Momentum · girls
Holding steady
  • 11 spots since 2024 (#465 → #476)
  • 36 spots since 2020 (#440 → #476)
  • 138 spots since 2015 (#338 → #476)
  • Biggest jump: 469 spots in 1934 (#1,442 → #973)
  • Biggest drop: 224 spots in 1935 (#973 → #1,197)
Rise & fade · girls
81 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1905
  • Peaked 1986 at #96 (2,975 births)
  • Births halved by 2000, 14 yrs later
Top of the charts · girls
Top 100 for 3 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: 3 yrs · run 1985–1987
  • Top 1,000: 86 yrs · run 1942–2025
Share of babies · girls
1 in 546
  • Highest: 1 in 546 girls born in 1979 were named Alison (0.18%)
  • Latest: 1 in 2,496 girls born in 2025 (0.04%)
  • Its best rank, #96 in 1986, was only 1 in 577 (0.17%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · girls
The 1980s
  • 23.1% of all girls named Alison (27,018) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1900s12#1,538 (1905)#1,800
1910s134#1,344 (1914)#1,939
1920s198#1,502 (1928)#2,048
1930s367#961 (1936)#1,241
1940s1,450#449 (1949)#783
1950s6,216#254 (1959)#360
1960s12,233#221 (1965)#250
1970s22,070#102 (1979)#137
1980s27,018#96 (1986)#108
1990s19,729#132 (1990)#161
2000s13,286#228 (2009)#248
2010s10,150#253 (2011)#326
2020s4,023#440 (2020)#464

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 girls in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Alison in 1978

girls
#123
2,433 births · 1 in 630 girls
boys
#3,614
10 births · 1 in 164,184 boys

Top girls' names in 1978

  1. #1Jennifer56,314
  2. #2Melissa28,327
  3. #3Jessica26,102
  4. #4Amy23,213
  5. #5Heather22,270
  6. #6Amanda20,520
  7. #7Angela20,517
  8. #8Sarah19,976
  9. #9Michelle18,856
  10. #10Nicole17,279
  11. #123Alison2,433

Top boys' names in 1978

  1. #1Michael67,127
  2. #2Jason51,600
  3. #3Christopher47,236
  4. #4David40,684
  5. #5James39,894
  6. #6Matthew34,282
  7. #7John34,014
  8. #8Robert33,374
  9. #9Brian29,432
  10. #10Joseph26,663
  11. #3,614Alison10
More about 1978

girls

1,531,859 girls got a published name in 1978; 1 in 630 of them was named Alison, which outranked 98.9% of the 11,475 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 16.5% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Alison
  1. #120Donna2,459
  2. #121Victoria2,457
  3. #122Katrina2,439
  4. #123Alison2,433
  5. #124Kelli2,326
  6. #125Ann2,320
  7. #126Tabitha2,309
Biggest movers since 1977
Risers
  1. ↑ 4,240Aja#4,652 → #412
  2. ↑ 1,987Kiley#2,606 → #619
  3. ↑ 1,951Kylee#2,838 → #887
  4. ↑ 1,785Winter#2,780 → #995
  5. ↑ 1,620Kylie#2,026 → #406
Fallers
  1. ↓ 913Shalon#868 → #1,781
  2. ↓ 760Farah#854 → #1,614
  3. ↓ 519Tennille#462 → #981
  4. ↓ 398Shawnte#740 → #1,138
  5. ↓ 362Farrah#177 → #539

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

1,641,837 boys got a published name in 1978; 1 in 164,184 of them was named Alison, which outranked 46.6% of the 6,762 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 24.6% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Alison
  1. #3,400Wilhelm11
  2. #3,400Zebulan11
  3. #3,400Zvi11
  4. #3,614Alison10
  5. #3,614Abdulla10
  6. #3,614Adriano10
  7. #3,614Adrion10
  8. #3,857Abdur9
  9. #3,857Adewale9
  10. #3,857Agostino9

Tied with 242 names at #3,614; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1977
Risers
  1. ↑ 3,237Dequan#4,164 → #927
  2. ↑ 626Nicholaus#1,367 → #741
  3. ↑ 617Nicklaus#1,515 → #898
  4. ↑ 578Zebulon#1,476 → #898
  5. ↑ 424Anwar#1,121 → #697
Fallers
  1. ↓ 674Kinte#834 → #1,508
  2. ↓ 668Kunta#572 → #1,240
  3. ↓ 417Telly#732 → #1,149
  4. ↓ 415Lesley#937 → #1,352
  5. ↓ 310Amin#904 → #1,214

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1978 →