Alice (name)
![]() Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, illustrated by John Tenniel, is an inspiration for the popularity of the name Alice. | |
Gender | Female |
---|---|
Language(s) | Old French |
Origin | |
Meaning | Of nobility |
Other names | |
See also | Alaïs, Adalheidis, Adalheide, Adelheide, Alicia, Alisha, Alisa, Alissa, Alyce, Alitha, Alita, Zélie, Alix |
Alice is a feminine first name with roots in the French and German languages.
Etymology
[edit]Alice is a form of the Old French name Alis (older Alais), short form of Adelais, which is derived from the Old High German Adalhaidis (see Adelaide), from the Proto-Germanic words *aþala-, meaning "noble" and *haidu-, meaning "appearance; kind" (compare German Adel "nobility", edel "noble", nominalizing suffix -heit "-hood"), hence "of noble character or rank, of nobility".[1] Alaïs is the Old French form of the name; Alys of Vexin was also known as Alaïs.[2]
Popularity as a given name
[edit]In 2015 the name appeared in the top 100 most popular names for baby girls in Australia, Belgium, France, Canada, Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales, and Northern Ireland. In England and Wales it was ranked the 24th most popular name in 2015,[3] but it has been less popular in the US until a recent resurgence. Some sources cite the resurgence starting in 2000, while others showed an up swing starting in 2010[4] One source attributes this to Tina Fey having named her daughter Alice in 2005,[1] though this is more likely a case of coincidence than causality. Other sources attribute the rise in popularity to media sources such as the Twilight books by Stephenie Meyer.[5] In Sweden and Italy it has appeared in the top ten names in recent years.[6]
The name was most popular in the US in the Victorian era and at the turn of the 20th century. It has been popularized by Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll.[1][6][2] It was also popular in the Victorian era due to The Princess Alice, a daughter of Queen Victoria.[1] In the US, Alice Roosevelt Longworth, daughter of Theodore Roosevelt,[1] was occasionally known as "Princess Alice" in the press and inspired a song called "Alice Blue Gown".[7]
Variants
[edit]Variants of the given name today include Alicia, Alison, and a short form, Allie, with many spelling variants.[8] Alisa is a form of the name in popular use in Russia, Estonia and other countries.[9][10] Aliki is the form used in Greek.
People with the first name Alice
[edit]Royalty
[edit]- Alice of Antioch (c.1110 – after 1136), princess consort of Antioch by marriage to Bohemond II of Antioch
- Alice of Armenia (c.1182 – after 1234) was ruling Lady of Toron from 1229 to 1234 as the eldest daughter of Ruben III, Prince of Armenia and his wife Isabella of Toron
- Alice of Cyprus (c.1193 – 1246), queen consort and later regent of Cyprus, later regent of Jerusalem
- Alice Heine (1872–1918), princess consort of Monaco, wife of Albert I of Monaco
- Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (1883–1981), member of the British royal family
- Princess Alice of Battenberg (1885–1969), aka Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark, mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
- Princess Alice of the United Kingdom (1843–1878), Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine, daughter of Queen Victoria
- Alix of Hesse (1872–1918), Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia, daughter of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom
- Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (1901–2004), member of the British royal family
- Princess Alice of Parma (1849–1935), Grand Duchess of Tuscany
Authors and poets
[edit]- Alice Adams (1926–1999), American author
- Alice Albinia (born 1976), author
- Alice Birch, British playwright and screenwriter
- Alice Cary (1820–1871), poet
- Alice Childress (1916–1994), American novelist and playwright
- Alice Arnold Crawford (1850–1874), American poet
- Alice Turner Curtis (1860–1958), American writer
- Alice Williams Brotherton (1848–1930), American writer
- Alice May Douglas (1865–1943), American poet, author, editor
- Alice Dunbar Nelson (1875–1935), American poet, journalist and political activist
- Alice Flowerdew (1759–1830), English teacher, hymnwriter, religious poet
- Alice Fulton (born 1952), poet and author
- Alice Greenwood (1862–1935), British historian, teacher and writer
- Alice Hayes (1657–1720), English Quaker preacher and autobiographer
- Alice Hoffman (born 1952), author of Practical Magic
- Alice Emma Ives (1876–1930), American dramatist, journalist
- Alice Eleanor Jones (1916–1981), American science fiction writer and journalist
- Alice La Mazière (1880–1962), French journalist, socialist and feminist activist
- Alice Pichen Lee (1883–1943), Chinese activist, newspaper editor, poet, writer and school founder
- Alice Priestley (born 1962), Canadian children's writer and illustrator
- Alice MacDonell (1854–1938), Scottish poet
- Alice Marriott (1910–1992), American historian
- Alice Moore McComas (1850–1919), American author, editor, lecturer, reformer
- Alice McDermott (born 1953), author
- Alice Duer Miller (1874–1942), author and poet
- Alice Munro (1931–2024), Canadian author
- Alice Hobbins Porter (1854–1926), British-born American journalist, editor
- Alice Rivaz (1901–1998), Swiss author
- Alice Sebold (born 1963), author of The Lovely Bones
- Alice Sheldon, better known by her pen name James Tiptree Jr.
- Alice Spigelman, Hungarian-born Australian clinical psychologist, writer and human rights advocate
- Alice Tawhai, pen name of a New Zealand fiction writer
- Alice Thompson, Scottish novelist
- Alice Bellvadore Sams Turner (1859–1915), American physician, writer
- Alice Voinescu (1885–1961), Romanian writer
- Alice Walker (born 1944), author
- Alice Willard (1860–1936), American journalist and businesswoman
- Alice Robinson Boise Wood (1846–1919), American classicist and poet
Musicians
[edit]- Alice (Visconti, born Carla Bissi) (born 1954), Italian singer-songwriter
- Alice (born Song Joo-hee), South Korean singer, a member of Hello Venus
- Alice Babs (1924–2014), Swedish singer and actress
- Alice Caymmi (born 1990), Brazilian singer
- Alice Coltrane (1937–2007), American jazz pianist
- Alice Cooper (born 1948), American male rock musician (see also The Alice Cooper Show and Alice Cooper Goes to Hell)
- Alice Coote (born 1968), British opera singer
- Alice Deejay, Dutch dance music artist
- Alice in Chains, American metal band
- Alice Glass (born 1988), Canadian vocalist in electronic duo Crystal Castles
- Alice Merton (born 1993), German-Canadian singer-songwriter
- Alice Nutter (born 1962), a member of the British music band Chumbawamba
- Alice Prin (1901–1953), French singer and actress
- Alice Carter Simmons (1883–1943), American pianist, organist, and music educator
- Alice Mary Smith (1839–1884), English composer
- Alice Spooner, keyboardist in English Grime/New Rave band Hadouken!
- Alice Vinette (1894–1989), Canadian composer
Actresses and filmmakers
[edit]- Alice Barrett (born 1956), American actress
- Alice Bellagamba (born 1987), Italian actress and dancer
- Alice Bendová (born 1973), Czech actress
- Alice Bier Zandén (born 1995), Danish-Swedish actress
- Alice Bird, British actress
- Alice Brady (1892–1939), American actress
- Alice Calhoun (1900–1966), American silent film actress
- Alice Cocéa (1899–1970), French actress
- Alice Connor (born 1990), British actress
- Alice Davenport (1864–1936), American actress
- Alice Day (1906–1995), American actress
- Alice Dinnean (born 1969), American muppeteer
- Alice Diop (born 1979), French filmmaker
- Alice Dixson (born 1969), Filipino-American actress, commercial model, and former beauty queen
- Alice Dovey (1884–1969), American stage actress
- Alice Evans (born 1968), British-American actress
- Alice Eve, English actress
- Alice Faye (1915–1998), American actress and singer
- Alice Gale (1858–1941), American actress
- Alice Ghostley (1923–2007), American actress, singer, and comedian
- Alice Greczyn (born 1986), American actress
- Alice Guy-Blaché (1873–1968), French filmmaker
- Alice Hollister (1886–1973), American actress
- Alice Howell (1886–1961), American actress
- Alice Joyce (1890–1955), American silent film actress
- Alice Krige (born 1954), South African actress
- Alice Lake (1895–1967), American actress
- Alice Lowe (born 1977), English actress
- Ali MacGraw (born 1939), actress; birth name is Elizabeth Alice
- Alice Mann (actress) (1899–1986), American actress
- Alice Marriott (1824–1900), English actress
- Alice G. McGee (1869–1895) American lawyer and actress
- Alice Moran, Canadian actress
- Alice Nellis (born 1971), Czech filmmaker
- Alice Norin (born 1987), Norwegian-Indonesian actress
- Alice Pearce (1917–1966), American actress
- Alice Ripley (born 1963), American actress
- Alice Robitaille (1923–2011), Canadian actress
- Alice B. Russell (1889–1985), American actress
- Alicia Silverstone (born 1976), American actress
- Alice Terry (1899–1987), American actress
- Alice Waddington (born 1990), Spanish filmmaker
- Alice White (1904–1983), American actress
- Aliki Vougiouklaki (1934–1996), Greek actress
- Alicia Vikander (born 1988), Swedish actress
- Alycia Debnam-Carey (born 1993), Australian actress
Science and medicine
[edit]- Alice Mary Barry (1880–1955), pioneering Irish doctor
- Alice M. Dimick (1878–1956), American mathematician
- Alice Harvie Duden (1873–1926), first woman lecturer at the Indiana Dental College
- Alice Fitzgerald (1875–1962), American nurse
- Alice Hamilton (1869–1970), American toxicologist
- Alice Masaryková (1879–1966), Czech sociologist and politician
- Alice Miller (1923–2010), Swiss psychologist
- Alice Pataxó (born 2001), Brazilian indigenous climate activist
- Alice Pruvot-Fol (1873–1972), French opisthobranch malacologist
- Alice Rivlin (1931–2019), American economist
- Alice Roberts (born 1973), British anatomist, osteoarchaeologist, anthropologist, television presenter, and author
- Alice Săvulescu (1905–1970), Romanian botanist
- Alice Whitley (1913–1990), Australian chemist and educator
- Alice Wilson (1881–1964), Canadian geologist and paleontologist
- Alice Withrow (1907–1998), American botanist, plant physiologist and researcher of plant photochemistry
- Alice Vrielink, researcher in crystallography
Activists
[edit]- Alice Bhagwandai Singh (1891–1970), Surinamese activist and proto-feminist
- Alice Bunker Stockham (1833–1912), American suffragist
- Alice A. W. Cadwallader (1832–1910), American philanthropist and temperance activist
- Alice Barbee Castleman (1843–1926), American social leader, philanthropist, and suffragist
- Alice Davies (born 1870 – alive in 1919), British suffragette and nurse
- Alice P. Gannett (1875–1962), American settlement house worker and social reformer
- Alice Sudduth Byerly (1855–1904), temperance activist
- Alice Hamilton (1869–1970), peace activist during World War I
- Alice Herz (1882–1965), anti-war protester
- Alice Jouenne (1873–1954), French teacher and socialist activist
- Alice Meynell (1847–1922), English suffragist and poet
- Alice Cary McKinney (1865-1928), American temperance and social reformer
- Alice Milligan (1865–1953), Irish nationalist
- Alice Morrissey (died in 1912), British Catholic, socialist leader and suffragette
- Alice Paul (1885–1977), American suffragist and British suffragette
- Alice E. Heckler Peters (1845–1921), American social reformer
- Alice Schwarzer (born 1942), German feminist and publisher
- Alice Ames Winter (1865–1944), American litterateur, author, clubwoman, suffragist
Athletes
[edit]- Alice Blom (born 1980), Dutch volleyball player
- Alice D'Amato (born 2003), Italian artistic gymnast
- Alice Kertész (born 1935), Hungarian-born Olympic gymnastics medalist
- Alice Kinsella, (born 2001) British artistic gymnast
- Alisa Kleybanova (born 1989), Russian tennis player
- Alice Mills (born 1986), Australian Olympic swimmer
- Alice Noháčová (born 1967), Czech tennis player
- Alice Pirsu (born 1979), Romanian tennis player
- Alice Schlesinger (born 1988), Israeli Olympic judoka
- Alice Tortelli (born 1998), Italian footballer
- Alice Whitty (1934–2017), Canadian high jumper
Miscellaneous
[edit]- Alice Auma (1956–2007), Ugandan spiritualist and medium
- Alice Austen (1866–1952), photographer
- Alice Ayres (1859–1885), an English nursemaid honoured for her bravery in rescuing children from a house fire
- Alice Bailey (1880–1949), theologist and lecturer
- Alice Barnham (1592–1650), wife of Francis Bacon
- Alice Bentinck (born 1986), co-founder and COO of Entrepreneur First, London
- Alice M. Birdsall (1880–1958), attorney, an expert in bankruptcy law, and a female rights advocate
- Lady Alice Boyle (1566–1643), wife of David Barry, 1st Earl of Barrymore
- Alice Broad (fl. 1661–1664), first female printer in York, England
- Alice Brock (born 1941), owner of the Massachusetts eatery that inspired the Arlo Guthrie tune Alice's Restaurant Massacree
- Alice Willson Broughton (1889–1980), First Lady of North Carolina
- Alice Brown Davis (1852–1935), Seminole tribal chief
- Alice Brusewitz, New Zealand photographer
- Alice Burdeu (born 1988), Australian fashion model and winner of Australia's Next Top Model, Cycle 3
- Alice Cambridge (1762–1829), early Irish Methodist preacher
- Alice Elizabeth Doherty (1887–1933), known for her rare condition of hypertrichosis lanuginosa
- Alice Dinnean (born 1969), American puppeteer
- Aliki Diplarakou (1912–2002), Greek Miss Europe winner
- Alice Gossage (1861–1929), American newspaperwoman and journalist
- Alice Gainer American local TV news anchor/reporter
- Alice Mary Hagen (1872–1972), Canadian ceramic artist
- Alice Hanratty (born 1939), Irish artist
- Alice Houghton (1849–1920), Canadian-born American broker
- Alice Jacobsen (1928–1993), American sculptor
- Alice Julius (1846–1918), New Zealand artist
- Alice Keppel (1868–1947), mistress of Edward VII of the United Kingdom
- Alice Elisabeth Kotalawala, Sri Lankan Sinhala businesswoman and philanthropist
- Alice Kyteler (1263–1325), first recorded person condemned for witchcraft in Ireland
- Alice Lau (disambiguation), several people
- Alice Liddell (1852–1934), the real person upon whom the eponymous heroine of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is based
- Alice Lisle (1617–1685), a judge at the trial of Charles I of England
- Alice Little, (born 1990), Irish–American sex-worker and advocate
- Alice Roosevelt Longworth (1884–1980), only child of Theodore Roosevelt and his first wife, Alice Hathaway Lee
- Alice Maher (born 1956), Irish painter and sculptor
- Alice Mahon (1937–2022), British politician
- Alice Mak, Hong Kong artist and cartoonist
- Alice Manfield (1878–1960), or Guide Alice, Australian mountain guide, naturalist, photographer, chalet owner, and early feminist
- Alice Marriott (1907–2000), American businesswoman
- Alice Mofflin (1878–1961), Australian philanthropist and charity worker
- Lady Alice Christabel Montagu-Douglas-Scott (1901–2004), Duchess of Gloucester
- Alice Naylor-Leyland, fashion writer
- Alice Neel (1900–1984), American artist
- Alice Nordin (1871–1948), Swedish sculptor
- Alice Orlowski (1903–1976), high-ranking Nazi SS officer
- Alice Ormsby-Gore (1952–1995), British socialite
- Alice Parizeau (1930–1990), Polish journalist
- Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt (1861–1884), wife of Theodore Roosevelt
- Alice Strike (1896–2004), Canadian military veteran
- Alice B. Toklas (1877–1967), paramour of writer Gertrude Stein
- Alice Walton (born 1949), the daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton
- Alice Waters (born 1944), American chef and restaurateur
- Alice Woods (1849–1941), British educationist
- Alice Young, first "witch" to be executed during the Salem witch trials
People with the surname Alice
[edit]- Antonio Alice (1886–1943), Argentine portrait painter
- Beatrice Kamuchanga Alice (born 1997), a long-distance runner from the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Georgia Mannion (born 2003), professionally known as George Alice, Australian singer/songwriter
- Maria Alice de Fátima Rocha Silva (born 1971), known as Maria Alice, Cape Verdean singer
- Mary Alice (1936–2022), American film, television, and stage actress
Fictional characters
[edit]- As single name
- Alice, a character commonly featured in cryptography books together with her partner Bob
- Alice, the eponymous heroine of the Lewis Carroll novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass
- Alice Kingsleigh, a version of the above from the live adaptation Alice in Wonderland (2010)
- Miss Alice, a main character in Edward Albee's play Alice originally portrayed by Irene Worth
- Alice, a yet-to-be-seen character in the anime/manga Rozen Maiden by Peach-Pit
- Alice, the female protagonist in the manga Pandora Hearts
- Alice, a character from Sylvain Chomet's animated film The Illusionist
- Alice, a caffeine-crazed engineer from Scott Adams' comic strip Dilbert
- Alice, Peter's male pet rabbit in Meg Rosoff's book, Just in Case
- Alice, Mary Elizabeth's friend in Stephen Chbosky's novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower
- Alice, a fictional character from the television series The Tribe (1999–2003) played by Vanessa Stacey
- Alice (Transformers), a character in the 2009 movie Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
- Alice, a fictional dancer from Konami's Dance Dance Revolution series
- Alice, a character in the 2012 adventure video game Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward initially introduced briefly in Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
- Alice, a spirit character taking the form of a hedgehog, from the video game Spiritfarer
- Alice, a resident of the 2019 farm life sim My Time at Portia
- As given name
- Alice Abernathy, a fictional character in the Resident Evil film series, portrayed by Milla Jovovich
- Alice Angel, a character from the episodic puzzle horror video game Bendy and the Ink Machine
- Asmodeus Alice, a male character in the manga and anime series Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun
- Alice Ayres, pseudonym for Jane Jones (played by Natalie Portman) in the film Closer
- Alice Bastable, a character in E. Nesbit's The Story of the Treasure Seekers
- Alice Beckham, a character from anime series Machine Robo Rescue
- Alice Blue Bonnet, a character in the Make Mine Music short Johnny Fedora and Alice Blue Bonnet
- Alice Burgess, a Police Chief Inspector & vampire ally from book series The Saga of Darren Shan
- Alice Cartelet, a transfer student from the United Kingdom, one of the main characters from Kin-iro Mosaic manga and anime series
- Alice Carter in TV series Torchwood: Children of Earth
- Alice Cooper, Betty Cooper's mother in Archie Comics and Riverdale
- Alice Cullen, vampire character in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight (novel series)
- Alice Elliot, a character from the Shadow Hearts series
- Alice the Fox, a crook fox from The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Buratino fairy tale
- Alice Gehabich, from Bakugan Battle Brawlers
- Alice the Goon, a character in the Popeye comic strip
- Alice the Great, a character in the animated children's series Little Bill
- Alice Green, a character from Big City Greens
- Alice Glick, a character from The Simpsons
- Alice Gunderson, a fictional character, the Quartermaines' maid on the American soap opera General Hospital
- Alice Hardy, a character in the Friday the 13th series
- Alice Hayfer, a character in the Nickelodeon sitcom Drake & Josh
- Alice Hiiragi, an antagonist from the video game Persona 5 Strikers
- Alice Horton, a fictional character, a matriarch on the American soap opera Days of Our Lives
- Alice Hyatt, protagonist on the American sitcom television series Alice
- Alice Johnson, a character in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series
- Alice Knight, the wife of Frank Buffay Jr. in NBC sitcom Friends
- Alice Kramden, long-suffering wife of Ralph on the American sitcom The Honeymooners
- Alice Longbottom, mother of Neville Longbottom in the popular fictional Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
- Alice MacLeod, main character in Susan Juby's novel (2000) and the television series Alice, I Think
- Alice Margatroid, from the Touhou series of manic shooter
- Alice Martin is a minor character in the film Halloween II (1980) and murder victim of Michael Myers
- Alice McKinley is the protagonist of the eponymous book series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor.
- Alice Mitchell, the mother of the title character of Dennis the Menace (US)
- Alice Nelson, the housekeeper for the Bradys on The Brady Bunch
- Alice Parslow, a main character in La Belle Sauvage, the first volume in The Book of Dust trilogy by Philip Pullman
- Alice Pieszecki, a fictional character from Showtime's lesbian drama series The L Word
- Alice Quinn, a character in The Magicians trilogy by Lev Grossman
- Alice the Rabbit, one of the main protagonists of the Bloody Roar fighting game series
- Alice (Alisa) Selezneva, the main heroine of Kir Bulychov's children's science fiction book series
- Alice Seno, a character from the manga Alice 19th
- Alice Squires, a character in Nexo Knights
- Alice Tate, main character in Woody Allen's film Alice, portrayed by Mia Farrow
- Alice Twilight, a character in the Wii game No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
- Alice Yotsuba, one of the main characters in the magical girl anime Dokidoki! PreCure
- Alice Zuberg, one of the female protagonists in the light novel and anime series Sword Art Online and one of the protagonists of the Alicization arc
- Alice Miyazawa, minor character from the novel serie «The Trials of Apollo» by Rick Riordan.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e "Alice: Name Meaning, Popularity, and Similar Names". Nameberry. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ a b Campbell, Mike (29 May 2020). "Meaning, origin and history of the name Alice". Behind the Name. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ "Top 1000 names in England and Wales, 2015". British Baby Names.
- ^ Campbell, Mike. "Popularity for the name Alice". Behind the Name. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ Schoenberg, Nara (27 July 2010). "Baby names with some bite". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
- ^ a b "Alice". Oh Baby! Names. 20 October 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ "Entry for "Alice"". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press.
- ^ "Meaning, origin and history of the name Alice". Behind the Name.
- ^ "Meaning, origin and history of the name Alisa". Behind the Name.
- ^ "Statistics Estonia:Name statistics". stat.ee.