Alison
/ˈælɪsən/
"alison" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Alison” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #10,161 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #10,161
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 15
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A female given name from the Germanic languages.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Alison |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈælɪsən/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #10,161 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 15 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Alison” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Alison is 6 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈælɪsən/. Corpus data places it at rank #10,161 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for Alison, with forms such as "ailson", "aliosn", and "alisno". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 15 confusable-pair relationships, "also", "Alon", "arson", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French Alison, brought to England by the Normans (from Anglo-Norman Alison, from Norman Alison), diminutive of Aliz, equivalent to English Alice, from Old High German Adalhaid (“of noble kind”). Became Middle English Alisoun. The correct English form is Alison, spelled A-L-I-S-O-N.
Definition
- 1A female given name from the Germanic languages.
- 2A surname.
- 3A locality in the Central Coast council area, eastern New South Wales, Australia.
Etymology
From Old French Alison, brought to England by the Normans (from Anglo-Norman Alison, from Norman Alison), diminutive of Aliz, equivalent to English Alice, from Old High German Adalhaid (“of noble kind”). Became Middle English Alisoun.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ailson,aliosn,alisno,alisonn,alisson,alsion,laison
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Alison - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “Alison”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-L-I-S-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈælɪsən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “also” - see the side-by-side comparison. Alison vs also
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.