Alice Origin and Meaning
The name Alice is a girl's name of German origin meaning "noble".
Alice is a classic literary name that's both strong and sweet, ranking in the US Top 100 and popular throughout the western world. Alice is derived from the Old French name Aalis, a diminutive of Adelais that itself came from the Germanic name Adalhaidis, which is composed of the Proto-Germanic elements aþala, meaning "noble," and haidu, "kind, appearance, type."
Alice is quite distinct among traditional girls’ names—more feminine and dainty than Mary and Helen, more substantive than Ann or Jane, yet with more lightness and innocent charm than Margaret or Katharine.
Alice has been riding a fresh wave of popularity, not only in the US and other English-speaking countries but in places as diverse as Italy, France, Brazil, and Sweden. That makes Alice a remarkably international choice.
Alice is a darling of literature, from the immortal heroine in Alice in Wonderland to an unusual number of fine modern writers like Alices Munro, Walker, Sebold, Hoffman, McDermott, Adams, and Elliott Dark. In other fields, there were First Daughter Alice Roosevelt, painter Alice Neel, food innovator Alice Waters, and literary figure Alice B. Toklas, to name a few.
As a British royal, Alice was Queen Victoria's second daughter, the princess who shocked her Victorian mother by breastfeeding her baby. More recently, Tina Fey helped popularize the name when she chose it for her daughter.
