Alison 1

Alison is the English form of the Scottish MacAllis < MacAlasdair, MacAlistair, MacAlister, all derived from Alexander, Greek “helper” or “ally” of “andros” Greek for “man.”
“Mac,” “Mc,” is the Gaelic “son of X.” “Son” < German “sohn,” “male child of X.”
Many variants as “Elison,” etc.
The feminine name Allison, Allyson, is unrelated. The “son” is not “male child of X” but is a French suffix.

I have read that the name Alison is Germanic in origin and means "nobility or of noble kind". Always knew I was a princess.

I read somewhere that Alison was an Irish Gaelic name meaning, "Strong Silent One". I find it interesting to see so many comments that it's of French origin... and that so many write that they think it an ugly name. Curious... :)

In China, Alison is translated into 艾莉森，the pronunciation of “son” sounds like the Chinese character “森”，which means forest. I think it's so beautiful.

As a last name, Allison (and its variants) MAY have a different origin than the feminine first name--at least some sources indicate a (possible) "son of Alec" or some other "Al--" name). The single l spelling is obviously more closely linked to Alice (it's source name, according to most sources). The poster who compared the "-on" ending to that of "Marion" was quite right to do so. Of course, there are masculine Marions as well. (John Wayne was one of them--but of course, he was quick to change it.)

Just as Marion is a medieval French diminutive of Marie, so Alison is of Alice. If we look at it as Alis-on rather than Ali-son we can better appreciate why it's clearly not a name with masculine origins or a masculine vibe. The masculine origins if Addison, Emerson, Madison, by contrast, cannot be denied. Alison is sweet - those surnamey ones are far less suitable for a girl.

It might be Medieval French, but it certainly isn't anymore. It came back into fashion as a purely Anglosaxon name, like Jennifer, Jessica and so on.

This name does not mean "son of". It is just a form of the name Alice.

I have a friend named Alison. It is a French name which is a mix between the name Alice and Louise. Therefore, I believe it should be spelt Alison, with one L and an I. I nickname my friend Ali.

Actually, Alison was originally a boys name (it meaning, quite obviously, Alice's son). It eventually became unisex and is now rarely used for boys.

Tacyla you are incorrect. Alison does not mean Alice's son and in fact it quite made me laugh. Does Madison mean son of Madi? hahaha. Anyway, Alison was a Medieval nickname of Alice revived in recent times. It's beautiful.

Alison comes from a diminuitive of Alice, hence Alison. The '-son' in this case does not denote anyone's son. However, in the case of Madison, it actually DOES have a 'son of' origin, the son of 'Mad' (from Matthew) or 'Maud,' and it was of course first a surname from this derivation, while Alison has always been a prename.

Actually, it's always been female. It's the Norman French form of Alice, so the -son ending doesn't mean "son of".

Okay. Most of the comments on this name's history and meaning are totally incorrect. Adelais, meaning "noble kind, " eventually morphed into the French/English Alice, and Alison is a medieval form of that name. The end.

Alison can also mean truth.

Means "Of Sacred Memory". It's also a feminine form of Aloysius. It's also Scottish for Louise. The Americanized version is "Allison".

Alison means 'famous fighter'.