Alison

Alison has the wind-swept grace of a name sewn into Norman tapestries. It began as a medieval French pet form of Alice, itself from the Germanic Adelheidis meaning "noble." The English took to it through Chaucer, whose Wife of Bath is named Alisoun, and it has circled in and out of fashion ever since, peaking in American usage during the 1970s and 1980s. Currently at 465, it reads slightly vintage now, in the best way, a name that once belonged to college roommates and now belongs to a new generation. Three soft syllables, gentle consonants, and an easy, conversational warmth.