UK girl's name
Allison
A feminine name of English origin meaning "truthful" or "noble".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Allison is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Allison popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #3318, with 7 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2021, with 16 births.
This profile covers 232 England and Wales registrations across 27 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 44% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 992 living people in the UK are called Allison. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Allison ranked #3318 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 7 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2021, when 16 girls were registered as Allison.
- • Allison ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #802 in 2010.
- • About 992 living people in the UK are estimated to have Allison as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#3318
2024
Births in 2024
7
Latest year
Peak year
2021
16 births
Estimated living
992
2026
Meaning
What does Allison mean?
The name Allison originates from the Scottish Gaelic name Ailís, which was derived from the Norman French form of the Germanic name Adeliz or Adelina. The name Adeliz is believed to have been a combination of the Germanic elements "adal," meaning "noble," and "lind," meaning "serpent" or "snake."
In the 12th century, the name Ailís was brought to Scotland by Norman settlers, and it became a popular name among the Scottish nobility. Over time, the name evolved into various spellings, including Alison, Allyson, and Allison.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Allison dates back to the 13th century, when it appeared in the chronicles of the Scottish town of Ayr. In these records, a woman named Alicia de Moreville was mentioned as the wife of a local nobleman.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Allison. One of the earliest was Alison Neville (c. 1394-1476), an English noblewoman who served as the Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth Woodville during the reign of Edward IV.
Another notable Allison was Alison Weir (1951-), an English historian and author, best known for her biographies of British royalty, including "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" and "The Life of Elizabeth I."
In the world of literature, Allison Lurie (1926-2020) was an American novelist and academic who won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1985 for her novel "Foreign Affairs."
In the realm of science, Allison Hargreaves (1962-1995) was a British mountain climber and the first woman to conquer Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen.
The name Allison has also been associated with notable figures in the world of entertainment, such as Allison Janney (1959-), an American actress known for her roles in films like "The Help" and television shows like "The West Wing," for which she won multiple Emmy Awards.
While these are just a few examples, the name Allison has been borne by countless individuals throughout history, each leaving their mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human endeavor.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Allison over time
The chart below shows babies named Allison registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Allison, the clearest high point is 2021. The latest England and Wales figure is 7 births in 2024, compared with 16 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Allison by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Allison was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #3056 | 49 | 5 |
| 2010s | #2814 | 91 | 10 |
| 2000s | #2767 | 55 | 8 |
| 1990s | #1862 | 37 | 4 |
Geography
Where Allison is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Allison. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Allison ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #802 in 2010.
Across the UK
Allison in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#802 in 2010
30 years of NRS records, 777 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Allison
-
Allison McKenzie
actor
British actress
1979-
-
Allison Curbishley
athletics competitor
British athlete
1976-
-
Allison Fisher
snooker player; pool player
English pool and snooker player
1968-
-
Allison Joseph
poet; writer
American poet
1967-
-
Allison Barnett
rower
British rower
1966-
-
Allison Harding
actor
Northern Irish actor, musician, director
1964-
-
Allison McGourty
screenwriter; photographer; film producer
British music executive and film producer
1964-
-
Allison Pearson
columnist; journalist; novelist
Welsh author and newspaper columnist
1960-
Related
Names similar to Allison
- Amelia 94,830
- Ava 54,556
- Amy 52,495
- Alice 46,815
- Abigail 45,658
- Amber 31,922
- Anna 27,802
- Alexandra 19,455
- Amelie 18,051
- Abbie 15,971
- Aimee 15,158
- Annabelle 15,120
FAQ
Allison: questions and answers
How popular is the name Allison in the UK right now?
In 2024, Allison was ranked #3318 for girls in England and Wales, with 7 births registered.
When was Allison most popular?
The peak year on record was 2021, with 16 babies registered as Allison in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Allison?
A feminine name of English origin meaning "truthful" or "noble".
How many people are called Allison in the UK?
A total of 232 babies have been registered as Allison across the 27 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 777 more in Scotland.
Where is Allison most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Allison ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #802 in 2010. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.