Alison

Alison is a medieval French and English diminutive of Alice, itself derived from the Old French name Aalis, a contracted form of the Germanic name Adalheid (modern Adelaide), composed of the elements adal, meaning noble, and heid, meaning kind or type. The name was widely used in medieval England and France, and appears famously in Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales as the name of the Wife of Bath. In modern Brazilian Portuguese usage it has also been adopted as a masculine given name, likely influenced by English. Related forms include Alice, Allison, Alisson, and Alyson.