Allison

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Allyson in TR Türkiye, NZ New Zealand.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 15 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Allison is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name177K records spelled Allison31 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Peru, Mexico, Ecuador

  Also written Allíson, Allisón, Állison, A'Llison, Allisön

• Portuguese given name85K records spelled Allison9 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, United States, United Kingdom, Peru

  Also written Állison, Allíson, Állísón, Ällisön, Allişon

• a separate given name78K records spelled Allison5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Timor-Leste

  Also written Allis-On, Alli-Son, Allíson, Állison

• French given name55K records spelled Allison10 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, Belgium, Canada

  Languages: French, Catalan

  Also written Allîson, Ãllïson, Allíson, Aĺlison, Ällison

• Greek given name4.9K records spelled Allison4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Greece, United States, United Kingdom, Canada

  Also written Alison, Άλλισον, Αλισον

70 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Allison is also recorded in 3 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, A surname originating as a patronymic.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In English, v. ALISON, ALLANSON

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

• In Irish, Synonymous with Ellison in Scotland. In Ireland it was found formerly in Co. Donegal, now mainly in Co. Antrim

  as a name·The Surnames of Ireland

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 144 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Allison Andersb. 1954USdirector, screenwriter
• Drew Careyb. 1958USnot in their usual nameAmerican comedian (born 1958)
• Allison Janneyb. 1959USAmerican actress (born 1959)
• Alyson Hanniganb. 1974USnot in their usual nameAmerican actress and television presenter (born 1974)
• Allison Joy Langerb. 1974USAmerican actress (born 1974)
• Allison Tolmanb. 1981USAmerican actress
• Allison Mackb. 1982USAmerican former actress
• Allison Millerb. 1985ITAmerican actress
• Allison Williamsb. 1988USAmerican actress, comedian and musician
• Allison Scagliottib. 1990USAmerican actress and musician

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,039 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Allison?

We estimate roughly 367 thousand people bear Allison (counting its spellings and scripts) across 11 countries in our records.

In which country does Allison have the most bearers?

We estimate about 279 thousand people bear Allison in the United States, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled allison.

Where is Allison most common?

Allison is densest in the United States, where the national register counts about 1 in 1.2 thousand people carrying it.

How common is Allison compared with other names?

In the United States, Allison is the 288th most common given name of 3,122,706 given names recorded there.

Is Allison a male or female name?

Allison is recorded for both men and women. We don't publish a percentage split: a record's gender belongs to the person and is attached to every given name on that record, so names in cultures where a name string also carries a parent's or spouse's given name pick up large cross-gender counts.

What does the name Allison mean?

Recorded meaning: Son of Allis, son of Allen, or son of Ellis.