Alice
Feminine · “of a noble kind”
Alice is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 588,147 girls against 1,959 boys since 1880. See Alice as a boy name
Alice lost half its length crossing two languages. The Old German original had four syllables and joined an element meaning noble to one meaning kind or sort; Old French wore it down to two, dropping the middle entirely, and English took the short version and never looked back. Almost nothing of the compound is visible now.
How old is the name Alice?
Alice was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Alice alive today was born around 1930, making them about 95 years old. About 220,000 people named Alice are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Alice most popular?
Alice peaked in 1880, reaching #8 nationally. Today it ranks #65, 57 places below that high. See the whole 1880 chart.
Where it comes from
From Adalheidis to Alice
The story of Alice
One woman carrying it changed what a short story could be asked to do. She wrote almost nothing but stories across a working life of half a century, set nearly all of them in small towns in southwestern Ontario, and built them so that a paragraph could contain forty years and a marriage could turn on a sentence somebody almost said. When she was given the Nobel it was the first time the prize had gone to a writer working essentially only in that form — no novels to lean on, no body of poetry, just the stories, and the committee said so.
Meaning
of a noble kind
Both Germanic elements are well attested and the chain of forms from the compound to the modern name is documented at every stage. What is gone is any way of seeing that from the name as it now stands.
Cultural footprint
Alice Munro (b. 1931) — Nobel laureate, master of the short story
Alice Walker (b. 1944) — The Color Purple author, first Black woman to win the fiction Pulitzer
Alice Paul (b. 1885) — Suffragist who wrote the Equal Rights Amendment
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
How the name formed
- Adalheidis
- Adelais
- Aalis
- Alice
Related forms: Alice · Alice · Alicia · Alice
Pronouncing Alice
AL-iss
Two syllables with the stress at the front. French says it in two as well, with the weight at the back, which English speakers rarely attempt.
Nicknames for Alice
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 192111,955 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #8reached in 1880
- Change vs 2022
- +1.0%3,547 in 2025, from 3,511
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Alice in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Alice in French — same name
- Alice in Italian — same name
- Alicia in Spanish — same name
- Alice in German — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida. INSEE rounds every published count to the nearest five for statistical confidentiality; the ranks are calculated from the exact figures. International figures from INSEE, Statistics Canada, Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland. Sources
Alices among us
people named Alice are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 453 born in 2025 was named Alice
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Alice has held the top-100 across 9 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Alice is headed
Alice should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Alice beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Alice in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is recognized across Europe with almost no change of spelling.
- It has been in continuous use since the medieval period without interruption.
- The spelling is short, unambiguous and never needs repeating.
- It is currently fashionable again, so a child may not be the only one.
- The meaning is entirely invisible without explanation.
- The record holds a few boys as well, and the boy is much the smaller side.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Alice to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Alice? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Alice
Feminine · #65 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Alices are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 220,000 people named Alice are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Alice in 2025?
- Alice ranks #65 among US girl names in 2025, with 3,547 babies given the name.
- How common is the name Alice?
- About 1 in every 453 US girls born in 2025 was named Alice — 3,547 in all.
- Will my child share the name Alice with classmates?
- Alice will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Alice
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ruby#64 · Genesis#66 · Paisley#67 · Clara#63 · Maya#62 · Claire#68 · Iris#61 · Zoey#69
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Alice? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Alice and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Or jump into a head-to-head
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle