How to say it
AL · ice
ˈæl.ɪs
Feminine
Alice
Noble
What it means
Norman French smoothed-down form of the older Germanic Adalheidis, 'of noble kind.' The Alice of Wonderland made it the default name for sharp curious girls in 1865.
Alice descends from the Germanic Adalheidis (adal 'noble' + heid 'kind, sort'), which became Adelais in Old French and was eventually compressed to Alice. The same root gave us Adelaide and Heidi. Alice spread through medieval England with the Normans and was steady in the top hundred for centuries. Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871) made the name globally recognizable; Alice in those books is sharp, curious, unflappable. It dipped through the late 20th century and is climbing again as part of the vintage revival. Common shorts include Al, Ali, and Allie.
How to spell Alice
The standard spelling is Alice. Common variants include Alyce, Alicia, Alis, but Alice is the most widely used form.
Popularity over time
peaked at #8 in 1880, currently #65 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–2025. Reviewed July 2026. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Pop culture
Lewis Carroll's Alice is the dominant reference; Alice in Chains and Alice Cooper come up too. The Wonderland Alice is unflappable and curious, a charmingly flattering association.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Alice in Wonderland Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel, the most-translated work of English children's literature
- Alice Walker Novelist, The Color Purple, Pulitzer Prize 1983
- Alice Munro Canadian short-story writer, Nobel Prize in Literature 2013
Spelling variants
- Alyce
- Alicia
- Alis
Names with the same feeling
See Alice from another angle
By meaning
By style
Common questions
- What does the name Alice mean?
- Norman French smoothed-down form of the older Germanic Adalheidis, 'of noble kind.' The Alice of Wonderland made it the default name for sharp curious girls in 1865.
- What does Alice mean in Germanic?
- In Germanic, Alice means "Noble." Alice descends from the Germanic Adalheidis (adal 'noble' + heid 'kind, sort'), which became Adelais in Old French and was eventually compressed to Alice. The same root gave us Adelaide and Heidi. Alice spread through medieval England with the Normans and was steady in the top hundred for centuries. Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871) made the name globally recognizable; Alice in those books is sharp, curious, unflappable. It dipped through the late 20th century and is climbing again as part of the vintage revival. Common shorts include Al, Ali, and Allie.
- How do you pronounce Alice?
- Alice is pronounced ˈæl.ɪs. Say it as AL-ice, with the stress on the "al" syllable.
- How do you spell Alice?
- The standard spelling is Alice. Common spelling variants include Alyce, Alicia, Alis.
- Is Alice a boy or girl name?
- Alice is traditionally a feminine name.
- How popular is the name Alice?
- Alice ranked #65 in the U.S. in 2025, according to Social Security Administration data.